SEAAOC 2008, to be held from July 16-18 at Darwin's Holiday Inn Esplanade, will include expert-led conference sessions and practical workshops, as well as a range of social and networking functions.

Speakers include Federal Minister for Tourism, Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson, Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson, Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources oil and gas director Luluk Sumiarso, APPEA chief executive Belinda Robinson, APIA chief executive Cheryl Cartwright, Oil Search managing director Peter Botten, Eni Australia managing director Eros Agostinelli and ConocoPhillips vice president external affairs Robin Antrobus.

Day One of the conference will include workshops and master classes on floating LNG, gas commercialisation options, the Asian liquefied natural gas industry and other topics.

On Day Two, the conference presentations begin. As well as keynote addresses from leading politicians, there will be case studies from various majors and mid-caps operating in Australian waters, including Chevron Australia, Shell Development Australia, ConocoPhillips, Osaka Gas, Eni Australia, Nexus Energy, Coogee Resources and MEO Australia.

Day Three begins with a case study of the Ichthys LNG project, which will be followed by a presentation on Arrow Energy's proposed Gladstone LNG plant and the company's plans for coal seam methane exploration and production in Asia.

Other presentations will cover the ExxonMobil-operated PNG LNG project, Oil Search's PNG developments, Darwin as a centre for gas development, and various presentations on LNG, domestic gas, tax issues, project management, subsea construction and tax issues.

The South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference will also review exploration and production as well as other issues including energy security and environmental sustainability.