OPINION

"Our world is changing and so are we": Coleman

WOODSIDE chief Peter Coleman pulled no punches at the International Petroleum Technology Conference in Saudi Arabia yesterday, warning industry to take climate change seriously or risk going the way of the tobacco industry.

"Our world is changing and so are we": Coleman

 

Already ‘big oil' is in the cross hairs of climate activists and Australia's season of horrific bushfires have put climate concerns to the fore. Coleman has previously warned that just one catastrophic event could permanently turn the dial of public opinion away from industry and gas' role as a cleaner source of energy than coal.

Linked to this is attracting the best new talent to an industry seen as being in decline by younger generation and the role of science and innovation in the energy sector.

"These two topics are linked," Coleman said, "Science, technology and innovation are all about solving problems and focusing on the future."

"Top-notch talent only wants to work for an industry that has a bight future."

This isn't an entirely new problem for the company, which has been using its digitalization work to attract the best IT graduates who would otherwise head to start ups.

"Oil and gas is not sexy," CIO Shaun Gregory told the APPEA conference in Adelaide back in 2018.

"We don't compete at all."

Coleman recognized this, but said the answer was a simple one.

 "If we are going to attract and retain the smartest staff, we need to show we are serious about taking action on climate change," Coleman said this week.

"We are not the cigarette industry and do not want to be viewed as such. And that is a very real risk if we do not take action now."

Coleman expected pressure on industry to reduce emissions would continue to increase.

"As an industry, we must be ready for this and make sure we have the most climate friendly product we can possibly produce, heeding this in the design and operation of our facilities and in our efforts to offset out emissions," he said.

Coleman's latest comments come just months after he warned industry at the GasTech conference in Houston that all it would take was "one cataclysmic disaster" attributed rightly or wrongly to climate change, for a major shakeup in policy and potentially a carbon offset scheme in Australia.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the energy sector, brought to you by the Energy News Bulletin Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the energy sector, brought to you by the Energy News Bulletin Intelligence team.

editions

ENB Cost Report 2023

ENB’s latest Cost Report findings provide optimism as investments in oil and gas, as well as new energy rise.

editions

ENB Future of Energy Report 2023

ENB’s inaugural Future of Energy Report details the industry outlook on the medium-to-long-term future for the sector in the Asia Pacific region.

editions

ENB Cost Report 2021

This industry-wide report aims to understand current cost levels across the energy industry

editions

ENB Social Licence Report 2021

In its second year, this research now includes trends and new findings surrounding impacts and responses as the energy industry seeks to secure and maintain a social licence to operate.