Head of legal/managing counsel | Shell
Peter Lorbeer
Head of legal/managing counsel | Shell
Managing a 20-strong cross-border team, Peter Lorbeer leads all upstream activity in Australia and is director of its national upstream holdings company. Shell Australia is the centre for the company’s global growth, and Lorbeer supports a substantial exploration portfolio off the coasts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. During this period, he has made considerable changes to the function’s internal processes, and has been praised for promoting a more commercial mindset within its lawyers. ‘We are continually looking for improvements to the way the department runs’, he says. Lorbeer counts building his team of ‘extremely talented and commercially savvy lawyers’ as among his greatest achievements, alongside handling several high profile, multi-billion-dollar transactions. A recognised LNG expert, Lorbeer plays a central strategic role in the business, and is known for his role in a variety of major projects in the jurisdiction, including Gorgon, the North West Shelf and Prelude. ‘I greatly enjoy working for an organisation that is directly involved in some of Australia’s most complex and innovative projects’, he says. With almost 20 years’ experience at the oil and gas giant, Lorbeer has supported operations across Europe and Asia.