APGA’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Davies, gives his final report for 2022, wrapping up the events and bidding farewell to a wonderful year.
Wow, all of a sudden, the end of the year is here. All of us have been through a change process or two in our careers and we understand how challenging they can be. 2022 has been a year of unprecedented change. If you cast your mind back to the start of the year, you might recall that COVID-19 cases were through the roof as restrictions started to lift, several states still had closed borders and the airports were largely empty well into March.
Come forward to now and while we don’t experience many restrictions anymore, we all experience the lingering effects of the pandemic in various ways. Travel is more difficult than it used to be, as airlines and airports slowly rebuild capability; projects that have been in hibernation are all waking up at the same time; a couple of years of no migration have depleted the working population of Australia so every sector is looking for people; China’s pursuit of a ‘zero Covid’ strategy and other factors continuing to impact supply chains are all big effects that continue.
Add to all this an energy supply crisis in eastern Australia this year! 2022 will be one to remember. I think it is essential that we all recognise the things we have experienced this year are not one-offs. The energy transition is going to impact projects, resources, skills, supply chains and markets for years (decades) to come. The entire globe is changing its energy system at the same time and demand will outstrip supply for a long time. Our sector is going to be very busy now and into the future.
That’s a great space for the association to be in to support members. Everyone is busy with their version of the same challenges right now. Sharing information and experiences, working on common problems and learning from successes and failures can make life a little bit easier for the whole industry. We’ve had some great examples of that in the last couple of months. APGA held a Gas Infrastructure Emissions Workshop at the start of September and had over 100 people come together physically and virtually to share information on the common challenge of reducing emissions from gas infrastructure.
And finally, after three years, we had an in-person convention and exhibition in Brisbane at the end of September. The atmosphere was electric across the entire event and an unmissable reminder to all who attended of two things:
- The importance of getting together to network, share information and spend time with people.
- The unique culture of APGA and this industry.
I attend many events and there is nothing like an APGA Convention and Exhibition in Australia. Several international exhibitors told me during the event that there’s nothing like it in the world. So check out the photos in this edition, mark the calendar for 14-17 October next year and we’ll see you in Perth in 2023!
For more information, visit APGA.
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This article is featured in the November edition of The Australian Pipeliner.