This March we held the third FutureGAS Conference and Exhibition, which saw it grow with more exhibitors, delegates and trade visitors than ever before. A new innovation this year was the addition of a technical stream alongside the business stream. The technical stream was very well attended and highlighted the desire for more technical knowledge sharing. In 2012 the technical stream will be expanded to run on both days of the conference.
A highlight, as always, was the valuable networking opportunities including the Gala Dinner, Opening Cocktails, Engineers at the Exhibition Drinks and the Women in Energy: Gas networking function. I’d like to thank our Great Southern Press team for all their effort in making the event a success. You can read more about the event on pages 54-61.
Next year FutureGAS will return to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 27-29 March with a renewed focus on non-traditional sources of gas and the future growth of gas usage – we hope to see you there.
This edition we feature an interview with The Hon Martin Ferguson AO, Minister for Energy and Resources. Associate Editor Katherine St Lawrence was lucky enough to be able to interview the Minister in his Melbourne office and gain an insight into his views on a variety of issues facing the gas industry. It is a must read – you can read the interview on page 34.
We also spend “˜5 minutes with’ Graeme Bethune – founder of EnergyQuest, Director of the Australian Gas Industry Trust and well known industry analyst. We also look at the latest issues facing coal seam gas and examine gas-fired power generation developments.
This edition we say farewell to Katherine St Lawrence who has been the Associate Editor of Gas Today since the November 2009 edition. Katherine is leaving Great Southern Press to travel and work overseas. I would like to thank Katherine for her dedication to making every edition of Gas Today better than the last and her great work on FutureGAS 2011. We wish her well.
We are incredibly lucky to welcome Lauren Molan as our new Associate Editor. Lauren’s first day was the opening day of the APPEA conference so she has had an amazing opportunity to meet with industry leaders and learn about the industry in a short time. Lauren joins us with a wealth of experience in journalism and public relations – please feel free to contact her at any time to let her know more about your projects, the latest idea for an article or any other industry information you want to share with Gas Today.