As well as reporting on these policy changes, this edition of Gas Today welcomes Keith Orchison as a policy columnist. His insightful column ‘When will they ever learn?’ touches on the precarious future of Australia’s energy sector. We welcome Keith’s wealth of knowledge and expertise in the industry to Gas Today.
This edition’s CSG feature focuses on the success of Comet Ridge’s CSG exploration in Queensland, as well as an investigation into the benefits of CSG water management, including an update on QGC’s water management program. AGL Energy General Manager of Upstream Gas Mike Moraza also speaks with us about the company’s water and air monitoring program as well as AGL’s hopes for the future of CSG in NSW.
A number of interviews are featured in this edition from leading players in the industry. Lakes Oil Executive Chairman Rob Annells reveals how the Victorian fraccing moratorium has affected the company and the Victorian gas industry; Engineers Australia Chief Executive Officer Stephen Durkin discusses how the unprecedented skills shortage in the labour market is having major ramifications for the domestic gas industry; and we take five minutes with Chief Operating Officer of the Western Region of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Stedman Ellis.
With gas prices increasing and a changing industry landscape, we take a look at new innovative uses of gas that are emerging to combat these challenges. An exciting feasibility study is underway at Collinsville to assess the viability of a hybrid solar thermal and gas power station, and we investigate the rise in popularity of LNG as a transport fuel, and how companies like Shell and EVOL LNG are getting involved.
For those of you who attended the FutureGAS 2013 Conference and Exhibition in Brisbane in March, we have a wrap up of the event, which saw a successful conference program and an innovative exhibition (read more on page 52). Thank you to Platinum Sponsor MWM and Gold Sponsors Tremco Pipeline Equipment and Comdain Infrastructure, as well as all other sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, and attendees who made the event a success.
The Gas Today team continue to work hard to deliver all the latest industry news and we welcome your feedback on the FutureGAS event and contributions for the magazine. Our August edition features include LNG, offshore projects, pipelines and networks, and operations – I invite you to participate in these. Visit our website for more information, or email your enquiries/suggestions to Associate Editor Anna Tupicoff at }