Industry Breakfast: Australia’s Offshore Developments

Thursday, 4 May 2006

The US Department of Commerce and the Offshore Technology Conference organize the Industry Breakfasts. Industry Breakfast tickets are US $25 each. Seating is limited, so participants are encouraged to purchase tickets with registration.

This event will highlight developments, future projects and commercial opportunities in Australia’s offshore oil and gas sectors, including the Australian Government’s role in stimulating investment in its offshore sector. In addition to presentations by senior Australian officials, the panel will include a presentation from a senior representative of a US energy company successfully operating in Australia’s offshore.

Participants and Topics

Moderator
Joseph Neuhoff III, Director, Office of Energy & Environmental Industries, U.S. Department of Commerce
Joseph Neuhoff is director of the Office of Energy and Environmental Industries, part of the International Trade Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce. As a member of President Bush’s administration, Neuhoff works closely with government and industry leaders worldwide to advocate for US industry on issues of domestic and international competitiveness. During his tenure at Commerce, Neuhoff has represented the Department at a number of senior-level policy discussions and participated in the inaugural Ministerial for the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate. Before joining Commerce, Neuhoff worked in both the manufacturing and oil and gas sectors. He has a broad background in management and business development, including identification of new commercial opportunities, negotiation of alliances and joint ventures, as well as strategic planning. His last role was business development manager for a medium-sized Dallas, Texas metal fabricator, where he engineered a corporate turnaround of four consecutive quarters of profitability.

Neuhoff holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Dallas.

Overview of Australia’s Oil and Gas Development Strategy
Ambassador Gary Quinlan, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Australia
Gary Quinlan is a senior ambassador in the Australian Foreign Service. Immediately prior to coming to Washington, DC he was Australia’s Ambassador in Singapore from July 2001 to June 2005. Quinlan joined the Foreign Service (Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) in 1973. At headquarters in Canberra he headed the areas responsible for Australia’s relations with the Americas and Europe, including the United States and North Asia. He headed the Australian Government’s Crisis Management Team for operations during the East Timor crisis in 1999. During the 1980s he worked extensively in international negotiations on oceans policy, sea law, maritime resources and Antarctica. He was head of the Australian Delegation to the Law of the Sea Preparatory Commission from 1986 to 1989. Quinlan has also had extensive experience in the Australian political system and his overseas assignments have been in New York, Paris and Dublin. He was also attached to the Economic Development Institute, World Bank in Washington, DC. Quinlan was educated at the University of Newcastle and holds a BA degree with honors.

Opportunities for Developing Western Australia’s Oil and Gas Reserves
The Honourable John Bowler, Minister for Resources, Government of Western Australia
John Bowler was elected to the Western Australian Parliament on 9 February, 2001 as the Labor Member for Eyre. Prior to this he was the founding editor of the Golden Mail Newspaper (1997-2001). Bowler has been a member of the Economics and Industry Standing Committee from 30 May. In 2002 he chaired an inquiry to identify strategies for increasing resource exploration levels. The report of Western Australia's Ministerial Inquiry into Greenfields Exploration in Western Australia, was subsequently released in 2003. In February 2005, Bowler was appointed as Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, Land Information, Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern. In February 2006 Bowler was promoted to the portfolios of Minister for Resources and Assisting the Minister for State Development; Employment Protection, Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern. Educated at South Kalgoorlie Primary School and Eastern Goldfields Senior High School, Bowler undertook a cadetship at the Kalgoorlie Miner and in 1980 joined the ABC in Kalgoorlie as a journalist. Always keen to operate his own media outlet, Bowler and his business partner launched the Golden Mail Newspaper in 1997. Bowler joined the ALP in 1981 and has been a delegate to the 2002 and 2004 State ALP Conferences.

U.S. Experience in Australia
Christie Haynes, Australian Industry Participation Coordinator, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd