Gloom no deterrent to Shell's plans

GLOOM in WA's oil and gas industry has not deterred Shell Development Australia from moving its corporate office to Perth from Melbourne.

Shell Australia chairman Roland Williams said the decision to relocate to Perth was a logical one given the city's proximity to Shell's major oil and gas assets in Australia's north.

And BIS Shrapnel chief economist Frank Gelber is predicting the downturn in the industry to be fleeting. Dr Williams said Perth had become the Australian hydrocarbon industry's base.

"It has a large domestic customer base as well as important distance and time zone advantages for Asian customers," he said.

The move to Perth involved the relocation of SDA's finance, planning, legal, human resources and public affairs divisions. These staff join Shell operatives who are in Perth working in a strategic alliance with Woodside. Under the alliance, Shell will lead joint business development and gas marketing teams that will build on Shell's strengths in world markets and help commercialise both companies' underdeveloped Australian resources.