Western Australia is currently at the forefront of global oil and gas activity, and international demand should ensure it will stay there for some time, one of Shell Australia’s top executives says.
Shell Development Australia Prelude vice president Bruce Steenson said a combination of demand from Asia for liquefied natural gas, the expansion of the local industry and new technology such as floating processing plants made Australia a major investment target for the sector.
Mr Steenson said a new research report prepared by London’s GBI Research suggested deepwater activities would dominate future activities in the nation’s LNG market.
The report said offshore natural gas exploration will intensify over the coming years, with the number of wells in Australian waters expected to reach153 in 2016.
Mr Steenson said there would be more exploration for oil and gas in more challenging locations as global energy demand ramps up.
“Globally there has been a move towards gas as a cleaner source of energy for the world’s growing population,” he said.
Mr Steenson is in Perth to host at the Deep Offshore Technology International Conference.
