The importance of the Perth Basin and stakeholder communication were key themes to emerge from the Energy Club’s first sundowner of 2023.

Panellists Mary Hackett, Non-Executive Chair of Future Energy Exports Cooperative Research Centre; David Pedulla, Senior Business Development Manager Rystad Energy; KP Birda Senior Analyst Rystad Energy; and Amanda Emery, HSEC Manager Operations Strike Energy, discussed the challenges facing the oil and gas sector.

Set against geopolitical and economic factors affecting the delivery of a sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy system, panellists in the 2023 outlook discussion said the industry would need to remain agile and adapt with urgency to the changing local and global conditions, including not only the impact of conflict which affected energy prices but labour shortages, supply chain disruptions and adverse public opinion.

Ms Emery said stakeholder engagement continued to be important, but she said stakeholder endorsement was an emerging factor.

“We all talk about stakeholder engagement, but we don't necessarily talk about stakeholder endorsement, and that's an issue that's presented itself on both the Santos Barossa and Narrabri projects,” she said.

“This concept of stakeholder communication and consultation needs to be further developed to make sure that our stakeholders are not only engaged, but that we have engaged them to the point where they endorse our projects.”

On the importance of the Perth Basin, Mr Birda said that while last year it made up about 4 per cent of WA’s domestic gas supplies, Rystad projections indicated that it could comprise up to 30 per cent by the end of the decade.

Future energy needs fed into the takeover activity for Warrego Energy, in the gas-rich North Perth Basin, which drew interest from Strike Energy, Hancock Prospecting, and Mineral Resources.

Mr Birda said the implied valuation of Warrego had more than doubled since early bids began in late October last year.

“That just tells you how attractive Perth Basin gas is right now,” he said.

Ms Hackett said Perth Basin gas was an impressive proposition because of the cost of getting the gas to market.

She said Strike Energy’s Walyering project was likely to be developed in the space of 15 months.

“That’s really special when you can deliver those sorts of outcomes,” she said.

“We're getting all this activity, and reduction in reserves that we've depended on very heavily – and WA tends to pride itself on its ability to keep gas prices within a reasonable range.

“But the number of things we've seen with Varanus, with Devils Creek, with Wheatstone, suddenly you've got this constriction in the markets.

“Having something like Perth basin where it is so close and easy to turn on is really important.

“It's very important that we see these reserves delivered.”

On renewable energy, Mr Birda said WA leads the nation in terms of a renewable energy development pipeline, with a lot featuring hydrogen.

But WA lags other states in relation to projects featuring utility scale batteries, which Mr Birda said was an outcome of factors including a large off-grid market, uncertainty around project life and the need for substantial upfront capital, and likely future electricity prices.

On carbon capture and storage, Mr Pedulla said a pipeline of projects was starting to develop, including a feasibility study by Mitsui in the Perth Basin, projects by Woodside, and Transborder’s deepC project, which aims to be an offshore CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) Hub.

Ms Hackett said if Australia developed successful carbon capture and storage technology, the greater the chance of establish value-adding industries.

“The more we can drive to carbon capture, the more we can drive that onshoring world,” she said.

“That's the outcome that we have to be looking to achieve, and that’s why it is important that government assists industry to pursue carbon capture and storage.”

Thank you to our event sponsors Yokogawa and Wood.

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