PwC partners Brad McBean and Matt Guthridge told APPEA attendees in Brisbane yesterday that because Australia's LNG projects were at the high end of the cost curve, productivity had to lift.
The pair gave industry representatives some advice on the most important ways to boost productivity. These included tips on plant readiness, skills and workforce, drilling and production, and innovation and technology development.
One of the most important messages was that Australia must look overseas to find critical skills not available here.
Guthridge and McBean said Australia's political stability and low shipping costs to Asia were positives, but a number of negative factors offset these.
They said that even after the shipping advantage was factored in, Australian projects were still at the top of the cost curve, with GLNG, Arrow LNG, Pluto, QCLNG, Gorgon, Wheatstone and Scarborough spearheading the graph.
This was because of the nation's high operating costs, relatively low labour productivity and high capital costs.
