AOG SNAPSHOT: Q&A with long-time AOG Attendee Chris Saunders

Chris Saunders – Inpex – Senior Pipeline Engineer

We sat down with Chris Saunders who has been attending the annual Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference (AOG) in Perth for a number of years and asked him what continues to draw him back.

There are many oil and gas events every year, what drew you to AOG the first time that you went

Being part of the oil and gas industry I had heard quite a lot about AOG from my peers. The feedback was positive and that it was a worthwhile event to attend, with lots of opportunities to see and hear about the latest technologies and ideas. When attending I also found it to be a great chance to catch up with some of my old contacts and to make new ones.

Since then you have continued to attend every year. Why is that?

Well I have to say that the first AOG I attended was everything I expected and more. I couldn’t believe the size of the Expo area and how many companies were on show. And it seems to have grown bigger and bigger every year since. I now look forward to AOG time every year because I know that I will get to see first-hand the latest equipment, hear expert presenters from around the world talk about my area of expertise plus learn about interesting new ideas.

Would you recommend attending AOG to your colleagues, and why?

Absolutely. I tell my workmates they must get down there, even if it is just to network. There is no other opportunity like this in Australia to mingle with your peers from all over the world in one venue. And the stand give-aways are great too.

What are you most looking forward to at AOG 2015?

I am really looking forward to attending the subsea streams at the AOG 2015 conference, in particular the presentations on Pipeline Design & Installation Systems.