The annual conference – from 10 April to 13 April - is the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere and this year’s Perth event is expected to break all attendance records for delegates and exhibitors.
Upstream oil and gas industry representatives of 20 countries will be in attendance at the Conference and some 108 companies will be involved in the exhibition.
The Conference will be opened by West Australian premier Geoff Gallop, and federal minister for industry and resources Ian Macfarlane is among other high-profile speakers.
APPEA executive director Barry Jones said the policy component of the conference would see APPEA setting out some new strategic directions for the upstream industry.
He said the upstream aspect of Australia’s energy policy was undertaken at four levels - the setting of national aspirations, the identification of strategic priorities, the setting of policy parameters, and project facilitation.
“In terms of national aspirations, there is a high degree of bipartisan and Commonwealth/State consensus, with the prime minister, state premiers, chief ministers and ministers having all endorsed the need to develop the nation’s petroleum resources and to use more gas,” Jones said.
“They have all endorsed the view that this development will deliver national, State/Territory and regional economic benefits; and significant, non economic, public benefits via meeting environmental aspirations, enhancing supply security and improving market competitiveness.
“The performance of both the Commonwealth and the State/Territory governments on the fourth aspect - major project facilitation - has also been good, especially with regard to the export of LNG.
“However, at the third level - specific policy settings - there are often stagnation, misconceptions and inertia.
“Achieving policy change at this level is often a slow and protracted process at both the Commonwealth and the State/Territory levels.”
Jones acknowledged that there had been some welcome gains over the past three years, but said there was not enough debate on the second level – deciding what should be the strategic priorities to deliver the agreed national aspirations.
“This creates the context within which both the change to policy measures and project facilitation has to be delivered," Jones said.
"Because it is not well enunciated there is resistance to change of policy and project facilitation is not fully effective.”
“The prime focus of the policy part of the conference will therefore be to propose a process for discussion between government and industry to agree this strategic priority context, and to put some initial ideas about the industry’s view on where Australian petroleum resource development ought to be heading.”
APPEA is the key body representing Australia’s upstream oil and gas industry.
Its members include leading Australian oil and gas producers, explorers and developers such as BHP Billiton, Woodside, Santos, Beach Petroleum, Tap Oil, and international companies like Chevron Texaco, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhilips and Apache.
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