Statement of Endorsement for the Australasian Oil and Gas 2009 Conference and Exhibition

Click here to read the statement of endorsement from the government of Western Australia Read Letter

Statement of Endorsement for the Australasian Oil and Gas 2009 Conference and Exhibition

Western Australia has come a long way since the first Australasian Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition was held in Perth in 1981.

That year the State produced $278 million worth of crude oil and another $29 million worth of natural gas. A quarter of a century later, the combined value of petroleum in Western Australia was 50 time greater, at $15.5 billion in 2006.

The number of operating companies has grown from a single producer in 1981, the Western Australian Petroleum Company (WAPET), to 107 companies that have direct interests in the onshore and offshore exploration and production areas of the state.

Western Australia is clearly Australia's pre-eminent oil and gas State, accounting for around 70 per cent of the nation's crude and condensate production and 58 per cent of gas production (including LNG).

In fact, more than $63 billion worth of oil and gas projects in Western Australian have either been committed recently or are now on the drawing board.

The offshore Carnarvon Basin has been a solid oil and gas producer for many decades and continues to present new opportunities, such as the development of Chevron's massive gas/condensate project and Exxon Mobil's Scarborough gasfield. Both these projects are in deep water and will require significant technical and material input from international service providers.

Meanwhile, the offshore Browse Basin to the north is also an emerging giant, hosting a number of exciting big projects such as Inpex's Ichthys and Woodside's Torosa and Brecknock LNG projects.

Western Australia's numerous offshore and onshore basins continue to provide world-class petroleum exploration opportunities.

There is also a lot happening at the Australian Marine Complex (AMC), just south of Perth, which provides support facilities for the Western Australian marine, defence, shipbuilding and resources industries.

The AMC Common User Facility (CUF), which is Government owned and opened in July 2003, has become recognised for highly competitive product delivery, quality of work, cost structures and multiple user project access. Since its opening it has generated an estimated $91.4 million into the Western Australia economy from over 120 user agreements and created over 800 full-time positions.

The AMC CUF has been successful with oil and gas projects requiring assembly and preassembly of fabricated units as well as undertaking repair and maintenance works. The AMC CUF produced the New Zealand Pohokura jacket, the first ever built in Australia for export internationally. The success of this project has also led to the Ausclad Group of Companies (AGC), securing the jacket and platform for the Black Tip project which will commence at the AMC CUF in July 2007. AGC has also used the AMC CUF to produce the recent Linda and John Brookes platforms.

One of the Government's key objectives is to make Western Australia the subsea oil and gas capital of the Asia Pacific. As part of this objective $174.3 million has been committed to infrastructure upgrades at the AMC CUF and a further $20.4 million for the establishment of the Australian Centre for Energy and Process Training (ACEPT) within the AMC Technology Precinct.

ACEPT will open in July 2007 and will be at the leading edge of training for the Australian oil and gas, chemicals and mineral processing industries. The centre will house about 20 teaching and administrative staff from TAFE and universities. It will cater for a maximum 350 students on-site and through remote web-based learning programs. A 25-member industry board, Chaired by Woodside's Keith Spence, will help guide the centre's strategic direction to ensure it remains in touch with industry needs.

Perth is also internationally recognised for its subsea engineering design capability including EPCM functions. With many of the planned and future project developments in deep water (greater than 500 metres) and in remote locations, demand for services such as fabrication, assembly, layout, testing and servicing of subsea plant and equipment will escalate. According to new figures, worldwide spending on subsea processing systems is expected to reach $4.4 billion between 2011 and 2015, up from just $250 million in the period 2001-2005.

To meet this demand the Government is also promoting the establishment of a subsea cluster within the AMC to encourage synergy and the benefits of shared infrastructure. Companies located within the cluster will be well-positioned to service the rapidly expanding local subsea industry, as well as the Asia Pacific region. Several major international corporations and local companies are already established or shown interest in establishing operations within the cluster. These include FMC Technologies, Ferguson SeaCabs, Thales Underwater Systems, Aker Kvaerner ASA, Vetco Gray Subsea Systems, Subsea 7 and Well Ops.

So it is easy to see why Perth, often referred to as the Houston of the Asia-Pacific region, has been chosen to host the Australasian Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in February 2009.

With seemingly few boundaries in the modern global economy, I urge you to be represented at this prestigious event, so you can take advantage of the many new emerging opportunities in this exciting part of the world.

Traditional supporters of the event such as the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, Norway and Germany will no doubt be represented, as well as representatives across Asia from countries such as China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Korea.

Be there, and share the Western Australia's ongoing success in the international oil and gas industry.