A record number of delegates convened in Perth for the 2011 Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association’s annual conference.

Government leaders, company executives and international energy experts descended on Perth to discuss emerging trends, new ideas, network and showcase products and services over three days from 11–13 April.

There was a great deal of excitement and optimism in many of the presentations as most agreed that the next ten years were to signal a significant shift regarding Australia's role as a global LNG exporter.

Before the conference commenced on the Sunday evening, delegates were also encouraged to attend the pre-program industry seminar: Women in Oil & Gas. The seminar, facilitated by Ernst and Young, was a first for the APPEA (Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association) Conference. Speakers in the forum panel were included Country Chair of Shell Australia Ann Pickard, Managing Director and CEO of Woodside Energy Don Voelte, Deputy Editor of the Australian Financial Review's Boss Catherine Fox, and APPEA Chief Executive Belinda Robinson.

The Monday morning saw West Australian Premier Colin Barnett provide a colourful topic for discussion warning international LNG organisations to 'keep their hands off Woodside'.

The future burns bright

Twenty-nine exploration areas across nine basins were released on the first day of the conference amounting to 200,000 square kilometres of acreage. According to Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson, the recent release is comparable to roughly three times the size of Tasmania.

Director of Analysis for Wood Mackenzie, Craig McMahon spoke about emerging trends in the global LNG industry and how Australian projects can look to this data to navigate the exciting prospects in front of them. To view Gas Today's interview with Craig, go to www.gastoday.com.au/videos

Social licence to operate

Many panellists, including Santos' Craig Jones and Andrew Price from Piper Alderman, focused on the issue of community engagement, and the industry's need to go beyond seeking the appropriate government approval for project work, and to extend the benefits of their work into developing the communities and environments they operate within. Particular parallels were drawn between the Montarra and Macondo incidents as examples of how to prevent future disasters, and community engagement was again highlighted as an important component of risk management and project viability.

Education: the skills shortage solution

Education was an underlying theme of many proposed strategies presented in regards to skills shortages aimed at promoting greater understanding of the importance of the industry, in terms of economics and the environment, government bodies and the general public.

Ms Pickard called for a greater push for girls in high school and university environments to be exposed to and encouraged in the sciences. This was complemented by a number of local secondary school students who were invited to attend the exhibition hall for a taste of the exciting oil and gas industry.

The Clontarf Academy provided a case study from CEO Gerard Neesham regarding Indigenous engagement and education. The Academy, created in 2000, has currently assisted over 2,000 indigenous boys to complete high school education, preparing them for employment in the oil and gas industries close to their communities. Patti McNulty from the Esso Highlands Papua New Guinea LNG project shared a presentation focusing on the Operations and Maintenance Technician Traineeship program, which encourages locals to take up training and employment opportunities with the company.

Wood PSN spoke with Gas Today about the need for government to support the growing LNG industry in terms of promoting and supporting apprenticeship programs for both blue collar trades and white collar professionals, with a focus on project management. To view the video go to www.gastoday.com.au/videos

Environment

Many guest speakers addressed the need for the industry to look to ways to reduce their environmental impact. Jim Slutz from Global Energy Strategies presented a case for the introduction of an Environmentally Friendly Drilling (EFD) program as is the case in the United States. The EFD integrates technologies including rig designs, drilling fluid systems, waste management, roads and pads into systems that reduce the impact of drilling.

Coffey Environments' Tara Halliday informed delegates of recent changes to various states' environmental legislation with regard to environmental approvals, key environmental incidents, and reviewed new environmental research and management initiatives that were introduced by the industry.

Taxes

The 2010 APPEA Conference was abuzz with discussion of the Resource Super Profits Tax, while in 2011 the focus shifted to the proposed carbon pricing debate. Shadow Minister for Mining and Resources The Hon Ian McFarlane expressed concerns over the carbon debate stating, "To penalise the extraction and production of LNG here in Australia, when the fuel is going to help other countries reduce their carbon emissions is hypocritical and counterproductive."

The Government has stated that it would like a carbon price in place by 2012, which will act as a transition to an Emissions Trading Scheme. Minister for Mining and Resources Hon Martin Ferguson indicated a willingness to have further discussions with the LNG sector regarding the negotiation of exemptions for the industry considering its clean-burning capability.

In contrast to the carbon price debate, Rod Henderson, National Tax Leader Energy and Natural Resources for KPMG, encouraged industry not to become distracted by the carbon tax and to instead continue to address the proposed Petroleum Resource Rent Tax as a matter of priority. (See article on page 48.)

APPEA will be held in 2012 in Adelaide from 13–16 May.

(http://gastoday.com.au/news/)