Swan says the event, starting next Wednesday at the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre, is the largest AOG in 25 years, by far the biggest oil and gas expo ever held in Australia, and one of the largest, if not the largest, oil and gas expos ever held in the Southern Hemisphere.
About 500 companies are expected to be represented at the expo from countries including China, Russia, the US (the biggest US representation ever), the UK, South Africa, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Holland, Denmark, Italy, France, Norway and Germany. The expo will also feature government stands from Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Swan says the big international interest in Australia’s booming oil and gas industry has already seen a need for the expo floor space to be significantly increased on two occasions, with all extra space taken up.
As well as the massive expo, Swan has included a conference titled Stepping on the Gas, which will run in tandem with the expo at the convention centre.
The conference component will be headlined by Federal Minister for Resources Ian Macfarlane, Western Australian Minister for Resources Fran Logan and Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association chief executive Belinda Robinson.
The British High Commissioner to Australia, Helen Liddell, will also speak.
Other presenters/themes of the conference include:
· Environmentalist Harry Butler, who will give a presentation titled Environmental Issues for the Upstream Hydrocarbon Industry;
· Energy Networks Association chief executive Andrew Blyth;
· Maritime Union of Australia Assistant National Secretary Rick Newlyn speaking on Labour Participation in LNG Projects – a Trade Union Perspective;
· EnergyQuest managing director Graeme Bethune on The Changing Dynamics of Australian Oil and Gas.
· National Iranian Gas Company’s Hedayat Omidvar speaking on The Natural Gas Industry in Iran; and
· Queensland petroleum and gas chief inspector John Fleming, whose presentation is titled Coal Seam Gas in Queensland.
