Panel Series – An unconventional approach | The role of Queensland in the east coast gas market
Dan Clark A , David Close B , Jane Norman C , Rick Wilkinson D and Samantha McCulloch EA Chief Executive Officer, Australia Pacific LNG
B Director, Gas & Energy Transition Research Centre, University of Queensland
C Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Amplitude Energy
D Chief Executive Officer, EnergyQuest
E Chief Executive, Australian Energy Producers
Dan Clark is the Chief Executive Officer of Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG), a natural gas business owned by ConocoPhillips, Origin Energy and Sinopec based in Queensland. Dan commenced his role with APLNG in May 2024 and is on secondment from ConocoPhillips, where he was most recently president of the Australia business unit. He has held numerous engineering, planning, asset management and commercial assignments related to ConocoPhillips’ operations in the Lower 48 of the US, Indonesia, Alaska and Qatar. Dan is currently serving as the Chair of Safer Together, a not-for-profit, member-led organisation that is focused on preventing harm to our frontline workers by simplifying, standardising, and sharing safety best practices. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Queensland Resources Council. Dan is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. |
Professor David Close is the Director of The University of Queensland’s Gas & Energy Transition Research Centre and a consultant providing strategic advisory services in energy, resources and education. David has international and domestic industry experience in technical and senior leadership roles across all aspects of upstream projects and has volunteered widely in professional associations. David is committed to trying to improve the discourse around the energy transition and spends far too much time on LinkedIn and any other media he can find trying to correct the record – follow him to help get messages from the middle elevated amongst the extremist noise. |
Jane Norman has worked and studied in Australia and the UK and brings 30 years of industry experience in the energy markets. She began her career with Shell International Exploration & Production as a Process Engineer in operations and then as a Commercial Advisor in The Hague, Aberdeen and London. Subsequently, in London, Jane held corporate finance and equity capital markets roles with Cazenove & Co (now JP Morgan Cazenove) and Goldman Sachs. Jane returned to Australia to join Santos where she held senior commercial, corporate strategy and Executive Committee roles. She led major strategic initiatives at Santos and played a key role in Santos’ growth strategy, in particular the merger with Oil Search. During her time at Santos Jane helped drive the transformation of company performance – helping to establish the growth strategy focused on cash generation and shareholder returns and, more recently, the company’s energy transition strategy. Jane holds a Bachelor of Science (Pure Mathematics and Chemistry) and Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons) from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Diploma in Management and Economics of Natural Gas (Distinction) from the University of Oxford. Jane is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. |
Rick Wilkinson is the CEO of EnergyQuest, which he joined 8 years ago. He has more than 37 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He held various roles with Santos over 13 years, including Vice President Commercial, and President GLNG and Queensland. Rick was appointed a Gas Fields Commissioner by the Queensland Government, a position he held for 7 years. He has held managerial and engineering positions with SLB in Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and the USA. Rick is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland – Gas and Energy Transition Research Centre. |
Samantha McCulloch is the Chief Executive of Australian Energy Producers, the peak national body representing Australia’s explorers, developers and producers of essential energy – oil, gas and lower-emission fuels. An internationally recognised carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) expert, Ms McCulloch has a highly informed view of the critical role the oil and gas industry continues to play in meeting global energy and climate goals. Before joining APPEA in 2022, she spent 7 years at the International Energy Agency including 4 years as head of the CCUS Unit. Ms McCulloch has more than 20 years of policy, industry and technical expertise from previous roles within government, industry associations and the private sector in Australia and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce (with Distinction) from the University of Wollongong, as well as a Master of Public Policy from the Australian National University. |
Abstract
Queensland has built a world class gas industry on the back of coal seam gas (CSG) exploration and development, underpinned by international investment in liquified natural gas (LNG) capacity – a combination that remains unprecedented globally. There are now over 14,000 CSG wells across the state, serving domestic demand and facilitating the rollout of renewables while at the same time helping meet the energy needs of the region. And the importance of Queensland natural gas is only increasing with gas production in the Bass Strait in steep decline and barriers to exploration and production remaining across the southern states. But we can’t take Queensland gas for granted – continued investment is needed in exploration and production and in the pipelines to get the gas south. New production will also be critical in Victoria and NSW, near to where it is needed. This panel will discuss how government and industry worked together to make Queensland a global gas powerhouse, and what government and industry needs to do – across the east coast – to deliver the gas so urgently needed in Australia and the region.
To view the video, click on the link to the right.
Dan Clark is the Chief Executive Officer of Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG), a natural gas business owned by ConocoPhillips, Origin Energy and Sinopec based in Queensland. Dan commenced his role with APLNG in May 2024 and is on secondment from ConocoPhillips, where he was most recently president of the Australia business unit. He has held numerous engineering, planning, asset management and commercial assignments related to ConocoPhillips’ operations in the Lower 48 of the US, Indonesia, Alaska and Qatar. Dan is currently serving as the Chair of Safer Together, a not-for-profit, member-led organisation that is focused on preventing harm to our frontline workers by simplifying, standardising, and sharing safety best practices. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Queensland Resources Council. Dan is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. |
Professor David Close is the Director of The University of Queensland’s Gas & Energy Transition Research Centre and a consultant providing strategic advisory services in energy, resources and education. David has international and domestic industry experience in technical and senior leadership roles across all aspects of upstream projects and has volunteered widely in professional associations. David is committed to trying to improve the discourse around the energy transition and spends far too much time on LinkedIn and any other media he can find trying to correct the record – follow him to help get messages from the middle elevated amongst the extremist noise. |
Jane Norman has worked and studied in Australia and the UK and brings 30 years of industry experience in the energy markets. She began her career with Shell International Exploration & Production as a Process Engineer in operations and then as a Commercial Advisor in The Hague, Aberdeen and London. Subsequently, in London, Jane held corporate finance and equity capital markets roles with Cazenove & Co (now JP Morgan Cazenove) and Goldman Sachs. Jane returned to Australia to join Santos where she held senior commercial, corporate strategy and Executive Committee roles. She led major strategic initiatives at Santos and played a key role in Santos’ growth strategy, in particular the merger with Oil Search. During her time at Santos Jane helped drive the transformation of company performance – helping to establish the growth strategy focused on cash generation and shareholder returns and, more recently, the company’s energy transition strategy. Jane holds a Bachelor of Science (Pure Mathematics and Chemistry) and Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons) from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Diploma in Management and Economics of Natural Gas (Distinction) from the University of Oxford. Jane is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. |
Rick Wilkinson is the CEO of EnergyQuest, which he joined 8 years ago. He has more than 37 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He held various roles with Santos over 13 years, including Vice President Commercial, and President GLNG and Queensland. Rick was appointed a Gas Fields Commissioner by the Queensland Government, a position he held for 7 years. He has held managerial and engineering positions with SLB in Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and the USA. Rick is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland – Gas and Energy Transition Research Centre. |
Samantha McCulloch is the Chief Executive of Australian Energy Producers, the peak national body representing Australia’s explorers, developers and producers of essential energy – oil, gas and lower-emission fuels. An internationally recognised carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) expert, Ms McCulloch has a highly informed view of the critical role the oil and gas industry continues to play in meeting global energy and climate goals. Before joining APPEA in 2022, she spent 7 years at the International Energy Agency including 4 years as head of the CCUS Unit. Ms McCulloch has more than 20 years of policy, industry and technical expertise from previous roles within government, industry associations and the private sector in Australia and internationally. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce (with Distinction) from the University of Wollongong, as well as a Master of Public Policy from the Australian National University. |
