APPEA 2021 - a resounding success

Last week the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) held its annual conference in Perth.   APPEA dubs itself the voice of Australia’s upstream oil and gas industry, and is well supported by operators, partners, service companies, regulators and government.

This year was APPEA’s 60th conference, an event that was delayed after cancellation of the 2020 conference due to COVID.   Unfortunately COVID meant that delegates from Victoria could not attend, nor the usual strong contingent of international energy leaders. But despite all that, the APPEA team pulled it off, with an excellent conference of face-to-face sessions, and a virtual option for those who could not attend.

“Feel the energy in the room” was the mantra of many delegates and industry leaders. The networking and side discussions are always an important feature of APPEA’s conferences. It’s a chance for leaders across all aspects of the upstream industry to gather together, and have open, frank discussions about current issues.

Even the hybrid panel sessions worked well, with virtual panellists joining a physical team via TV screens interspersed with the panellists’ chairs on the stage.

So congratulations to the APPEA team. They pulled it off, despite all the challenges that COVID presents. And there is no doubt that it was worth doing. The benefit to the delegates and the wider industry was enormous.

Jeanette Roberts is an energy industry leader and Non-Executive Director.  She is interested in global energy issues, and their impact on the Asia Pacific region.