UKTI - How to access the supply chain of major projects in Australia's gas industry

30th January 2014

Australian Oil & Gas - Accessing the Supply Chain

Linda Miles, Trade Manager, UKTI PerthFrancis Norman, Senior Consultant, Xodus Group

2

Searching for projects in Perth

Australian e-newsletters Can be useful

Australian media Generally good, but often slow and/or late

Client-sourced market intelligence Best source, but time-demanding and often difficult when from overseas

ProjectConnect Almost entirely free, quite useful

3

Perth – the relationship market“Be here to be accepted

Stay here to be trusted

Don’t come and go, don’t to and fro

Give up early and your business is busted”

The Perth market is a relationship market. Building solid relationships within the industry will take 2+ years, regardless of the quality of your product/service/offer.

Be prepared for the long haul.

4

Know your clients

Many will have approved supplier lists These are hard to get onto in mature sites They are easier to get onto if you have a unique new offering, or if the site is new

Their contexts are different Clients prefer to see local or similar-to-local references, instead of references to an

obscure and potentially irrelevant job in the North Sea

They are picky Clients have specific requirements which they expect to be met, sometimes these

requirements are implied or assumed to be understood at point of tender. Eg. Woodside generally follows Shell’s Design and Engineering Practice (DEP), but still

has their own quirks

5

Australia is not the UK

Australia shares some similarities with UK standards, but also has differences that should not be overlooked In some instances, Australian standards are mandatory, NOT optional Eg. AS 3000, Hazardous Area standards, NOPSEMA

6

Playing the game

Be proactive in promoting yourself Speak to engineers and procurement managers multiple times. Speaking to the client/operator once will not automatically ensure that you will be on the

bid list.

Have patience Getting onto projects will take time. It’s like playing Snakes and Ladders; don’t give up

the first time you fall down a snake. The procurement process, in particular, may be slow. Be prepared to wait.

Think global Very little is built in Australia, so you may need to ship to and support Australian standard

goods into yards all over the world

7

What’s next?

Feel free to ask questions after this presentation

Follow the conversation on LinkedIn Follow the UKTI twitter account:

@uktiaustralia Keep yourself updated on the latest

Australian business opportunities Attend UKTI’s industry-specific webinars

8

Questions?

Francis NormanSenior Consultant – Xodus Group

Email: [email protected]

Linda MilesTrade Development Manager

Email: [email protected]

Chris Egan

Trade Development Officer

Email: [email protected]

Information and images courtesy of: ABC News, Arkay Career Services, Dennis Rutzou Public Relations, Francis Norman - Xodus Group, Living In The Land of Oz, Project Connect, TV Tropes, UK Trade & Investment, Vividus