Media release: Australia’s biggest conference is cooking with gas

The finishing touches are being put on the biggest conference in Australia during the COVID era.

The APPEA 2021 conference is the biggest ‘oil and gas’ event in the Southern Hemisphere and officially kicks off tomorrow morning in Perth with a special opening ceremony.

APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said more than 120 companies from the oil and gas industry are showing their wares.

“Everything from helicopters to Formula One racing car simulators will be on display at the biggest conference held in Australia since the COVID Pandemic,” Mr McConville said.

“This conference will be a big boon for the Perth economy, more than a thousand delegates have come across the country and thousands more will be watching virtually for the first time from across the world.

“This event brings together industry leaders, innovators, policy makers and energy professionals. A number of senior politicians and CEOs of some of Australia’s biggest companies will be in attendance.

“There will be in excess of 110 speakers presenting over 3 days in 29 sessions.

“The fact we are having a conference at all is testament to Australia’s strong COVID response and how our industry played a big part ensuring the lights stayed on and the factories still produced.

“In fact, without our industry, there would have been no hand sanitiser, no computers to work from home with and no phones to keep in touch with loved ones, all products that need oil and gas to survive.

“We found a way to literally provide the energy that drives the nation. We supported tens of thousands of good-paying jobs. We provided significant revenues to states to pay for new frontline workers and build new hospitals, roads, ports and bridges.”

APPEA Western Australia Director Claire Wilkinson said this year marks the 60th Anniversary of the APPEA conference.

“In Australia, our industry contributes 3% to Australia’s GDP and around 13% of our total exports supporting 80,000 jobs directly and indirectly in Australia and hundreds of thousands more in mining and minerals processing, electricity generation, manufacturing, transport and other industries that rely on the sector’s outputs,” Ms Wilkinson said.

“No state understands this more than Western Australia, but this is just the tip of the iceberg;  a recent EY report showed that under the right investment settings, the oil and gas sector could provide a $350 billion boost to the economy and more than 220,000 jobs over the next two decades.

“Our industry is also doing a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to reducing emissions from the energy sector. Australia’s natural gas not only reduces emissions and supports renewables in Australia, it also reduces emissions across importing countries in Asia. In fact, Australian liquefied natural gas is helping to reduce emissions in importing countries by about 170 million tonnes each year.

“Natural gas plays an important role in balancing renewable energy and our industry is also leading the world in the practical development of carbon capture and storage and hydrogen to enable a clean energy future.”

The conference starts at 8.30am tomorrow.

Read the media release