What will the future bring?

A global mindset is a prerequisite for a successful oil and gas industry in Australia over the next few years, according to NERA CEO Miranda Taylor.

“If Australia is going to stay economically strong, we need to see ourselves as part of a global market,” she said.

Pointing to an increasingly automated future, Ms Taylor said there was huge potential for jobs and business, especially if businesses within the local supply chain saw the global industry as a potential client.

“Businesses in the supply chain here need to think beyond purely local content and beyond Shell and Chevron as their only clients,” she said.

“We need a smart, high-value, digital and export-focused supply chain able to operate in a wide variety of scenarios. We need to be resilient and we need to be able to respond in an agile way to emerging opportunities.”

Among the scenarios facing the oil and gas sector there are two transformational drivers helping the local sector move away from what has been a huge investment and construction cycle, according to Ms Taylor.

These are the rapid development of digital and automation technology – what is often called Industry 4.0 or the fourth industry revolution – and the energy transition as the world moves to decarbonise.

In addition, Ms Taylor said there were two global industry drivers influencing the local industry’s business model – a far more varied and competitive global market and rapid development of unconventional reserves, most notably the US shale revolution and the plunge in the oil price to what looks to be the new norm of ‘lower for longer’.

“In the past the industry’s growth/business model has been finding and monetising largely conventional oil and gas reserves, with a large offshore focus,” she said.

“We are now looking at a vastly different business model, one which needs to be able to remain profitable at significantly reduced commodity prices.

“This includes looking at smaller projects, more diversified portfolios, more focus on where the value is across the entire supply chain and more resilient business strategies.

The other thing is advancements in technology mean Australia is really needing to look at how we integrate into the global marketplace.”

To hear more about Ms Taylor’s thoughts on the economic outlook for oil and gas, head to the Collaboration Forum on Thursday 14 March from 9.30 – 11.00 where she will be speaking about industry collaboration and the emerging challenges facing the sector.