May 24 - According to GL Noble Denton, large-scale oil and gas projects in Australia will drive growth across the industry in the wider Asia-Pacific region.

GL Noble Denton is an oil and gas technical advisor and in its latest report - Seismic Shifts: The outlook for the oil and gas industry in 2013 - Australia is listed as the world's third most-attractive investment destination. No other Asia-Pacific country appears in the report's shortlist of leading investment destinations for the oil and as industry.
 
The report is made up from a survey of over 400 senior oil and gas professional and in-depth interviews with 20 industry executives.
 
According to the study, 72 percent of respondents in the Asia-Pacific region say they are highly or somewhat confident of for the outlook of their business during 2013. Among these ventures is the USD12 billion Shell Prelude project - situated offshore Australia - which is the first regional development to incorporate floating liquefied natural gas technology.
 
In light of new technologies being developed making it possible to operate in increasingly challenging environments, GL Noble Denton's study uncovered that 37 percent of respondents will increase their research and development spend during 2013. However, the increasing complexity of operating in such environment has led to higher costs - 53 percent of respondents argue that rising operating costs are the biggest barrier to industry growth.
 
"Australia remains a robust market within the in the Asia-Pacific region, despite challenges posed by the global operating climate. Our research reaffirms that the country's megaprojects are drawing huge inward investment to the country," commented Richard Bailey, GL Noble Denton's executive vice president for Asia Pacific.
 
"However, there are fears that as these projects grow, operational costs will increase substantially. As many Australian megaprojects reach a critical phase in their development, any change in costs could be crucial to future progress. Careful forward planning and effective implementation of work is now more important than ever to ensure these concerns are not realised."
 
www.gl-nobledenton.com

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