CSIRO Petroleum Chief, Dr Beverley Ronalds, says that the new Alliance will reverse the current trend for much research and development funding to go offshore, by keeping world-class skills, research and funding in Australia.

"The Alliance is strongly supported by the Australian oil and gas industry," says Ronalds. "It will provide premium quality research and development and services, aimed at developing technology-based solutions for the global energy sector."

Ronalds says the Alliance will enable the key research organisations to share knowledge, skills and facilities in areas such as sub-surface technology, drilling and wells, offshore facilities and energy science. International and Australian companies have already made approaches to become closely involved.

Senior researchers from the three institutions met on 11 September 2003 to begin developing Alliance priorities.

"The Alliance is intended to become one of the top research clusters in the world," says Ronalds. "It is strategically based in Western Australia, the nation's biggest oil and gas producer, delivering more than 50 per cent of Australia's total output.

"This agreement produces a critical mass of experts with an understanding of the unique issues in our part of the world," Ronalds says. "We will work with our industry partners to deliver solutions, not just good science, because the Alliance won't just be a research provider. We want to see our technologies deployed in practice where they are really adding value.

"Furthermore, this is not just an alliance between oil and gas research groups but a unique conduit for the powerful multi-disciplinary knowledge in the three institutions to focus on energy issues."

The alliance is an initiative of the $37 million Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC), at Bentley Technology Park, and will enhance the research and development expertise already offered there. The ARRC - housing more than 200 researchers - is jointly funded by CSIRO, Curtin University of Technology and the Western Australian Government, and was developed in conjunction with the petroleum and mining industries.

The formation of the WA Energy Research Alliance is in line with ARRC's fundamental purpose, to create an international world-leading centre for research and development in support of the global petroleum and minerals resources sector.

Professor Mark Bush, the Dean of UWA's Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, says that the Alliance is an example of how institutions can come together to merge their complementary skills to create a result that is greater than the sum of their individual parts.

"The Alliance will be a single point of contact for R&D in this industry in WA, providing a breadth of skills and problem solving capability not previously seen in the State," Professor Bush says.

Dr Barney Glover, Curtin's Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Development, says that Curtin is looking forward to contributing to the overall capabilities of the Alliance.

"The partnership is an excellent example of how universities and industry can collaborate to produce the best possible outcomes for industry," he says.