Perth to host International LNG conference in 2016

Perth has secured the hosting of the 18th International Conference and Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG18) in April 2016. The announcement was made in Houston, Texas last week by the LNG16 steering committee made up of representatives of the International Gas Union, the Gas Technology Institute and the International Institute of Refrigeration.

Premier Colin Barnett had endorsed the bid and promised Government support to ensure LNG18 was successfully staged in Perth. Mr Barnett said the conference would enhance Perth’s reputation as a business and conference centre for the energy sector. “LNG 18 will bring the heads of major global gas producing and energy companies, and a lot of attention to Perth,” Mr Barnett said.

“Western Australia is already the world’s sixth largest LNG exporter, and with more than $140 billion worth of LNG and gas projects, either under way, or close to a Final Investment Decision, is set to become one of the top two. LNG18 will provide an important opportunity to showcase Perth as a regional corporate centre and underlines WA’s growing importance as an energy supplier.”

The Premier had headed WA’s successful bid to bring the LNG12 conference and exhibition to Perth in 1998 in his role as the then Minister for Resources Development and Energy in the Richard Court Government.

The economic impact of LNG18 has been calculated at more than $50 million. The Perth Convention Bureau is the key industry body responsible for marketing Perth and Western Australia as a business events destination. Last year it secured business events that will require more than 247,000 hotel room nights and inject more than $93 million into the Western Australian economy over the next four years.