Perth
**check against delivery
Well thank you very much Malcolm. To Ann Pickard, can I also acknowledge Elizabeth Constable, former Premier of Western Australia Richard Court, Ladies and Gentlemen.
On behalf of the Commonwealth I simply say that it is an absolute pleasure to be here with Shell this afternoon.
Ann appropriately said that this is a big day for Shell.
I simply say it is also a very big day for Australia.
I congratulate Shell on its decision to go ahead with the Prelude floating LNG project – a landmark decision for both Shell and Australia.
As Malcolm said it is the culmination of many years of hard work and perseverance.
It also represents the importance to Australia of foreign investment and the all important issue of companies prepared to take risks to actually invest in their future and in doing so to invest in Australia's future.
Prelude will likely be the world’s first floating LNG facility.
This demonstrates very clearly Shell’s industry-leading innovative capacity and importantly its faith in Australia as a country in which to trial this new and exciting use of LNG technology.
Floating LNG can unlock petroleum resources that are either too far from existing infrastructure or too small to develop via a conventional LNG project.
Malcolm said that he is an engineer at heart and he is excited by this project.
I am an economist at heart and I am exceptionally excited by this project in terms of the wealth and potential opportunity it actually brings to Australia.
Just think about it. The benefits to Australia from this project are potentially substantial:
- over $45 billion to Australia’s GDP;
- around 1,000 jobs;
- $12 billion in tax revenues;
- $12 billion to be spent on Australian goods and services; and
- A boost in our balance of trade by at least $18 billion over the 25-year life of the project.
But equally importantly, through Prelude Shell will offer valuable training, education and research opportunities to Australia.
We will again be a leading edge nation side by side with Shell in our new partnership on innovation and skilling.
The facility will be the largest floating structure ever built and will be used to develop both the Prelude and Concerto fields in the Browse Basin about 475 km north-northeast of Broome.
Prelude will be one of the first movers in the development of gas in this area.
We all appreciate that the Browse Basin is highly prospective.
I am confident we’ll see further discoveries of petroleum in the Browse and more projects move to development.
Australia is already the world’s fourth-largest LNG producer and exporter.
This year we forecast our LNG exports to be worth more than $8 billion, with this figure to grow as new projects come on-stream.
The new projects coming together on both the west coast and the east coast, in association with a potential development in Northern Australia, show the confidence of the industry to invest and expand in Australia.
Ladies and gentlemen, this confidence puts us securely on the road to becoming the world’s second-largest exporter of LNG in the near future.
It is a transition fuel in a complex climate change debate.
Today, Shell has appropriately given Australia its vote of confidence as a secure place to invest and to prove in partnership with the Australian community through the development of our natural resources its world‑leading floating LNG technology.
I congratulate Shell for reaching this milestone. I also extend my appreciation and respect to the team that has actually pulled this floating LNG opportunity together. It is a job well done.
Congratulations to all those who actually brought us as a nation and the global community this new opportunity in economic development.
I look forward to working with the project team to facilitate and ensure the project actually takes shape as expected by each and every one of us.
Thank you.