August has delivered one of the biggest months for Australia’s onshore oil and gas industry in recent years. Across Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory, the industry is transitioning from exploration and appraisal into production, infrastructure expansion and long-term workforce growth. While some operators continue to manage spending and review contracts, the overall outlook remains positive for drilling, well servicing, maintenance and field operations.

For AWCC, the message is clear: the market is changing, but opportunities continue to emerge for skilled and safety-focused personnel.

The Surat Basin remains the engine room of Australia’s onshore gas production. Development drilling continues across the region to support LNG export facilities at Gladstone, with operators focusing on sustaining production through new coal seam gas wells and gathering infrastructure.

Although several major operators have announced cost reviews and procurement changes during August, field activity has continued, particularly around Chinchilla, Miles and Roma. This is creating ongoing demand for drilling crews, wireline, well servicing, civil construction, pipeline maintenance and safety-critical training.

The Cooper Basin remains one of Australia’s most established conventional oil and gas regions. Rather than large-scale greenfield development, activity is centred on production optimisation, workovers, well intervention and extending the life of producing assets.

For contractors, this means continued opportunities in coil tubing, cementing, stimulation, production testing and integrity management. Experienced crews capable of moving between drilling and intervention work remain highly valued across the basin.

The Bowen Basin continues to be an important contributor to Queensland’s gas reserves. Updated national reserve data shows significant increases in both proven reserves and future gas resources across the Bowen Basin during 2025–26, reinforcing its long-term importance to east coast gas supply.

Development activity is expected to continue as operators work to maintain supply into Queensland’s LNG network and domestic gas market.

The biggest industry story this month came from the Northern Territory.

For the first time, gas from the Beetaloo Basin began flowing into the Northern Territory’s gas network through APA Group’s newly commissioned Sturt Plateau Pipeline. This marks the transition from years of exploration and hydraulic fracturing trials into commercial production.

The milestone is significant because it unlocks future pipeline expansion, additional drilling campaigns and increased demand for hydraulic fracturing, drilling, logistics and well control expertise across northern Australia.

Looking ahead, AWCC expects continued demand for:

• Drilling and well servicing personnel.
• High Risk Work licence holders.
• IWCF-certified supervisors and drillers.
• Confined space, gas testing and rescue capability.
• Entry-level workers prepared through structured industry training.

Australia’s onshore sector is entering a new phase where skilled people will remain one of the industry’s most valuable resources. As projects expand across multiple basins, investing in recognised training and maintaining competency will continue to separate work-ready personnel from the rest of the market.

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Oil and gas has spent decades improving equipment, procedures, barriers and management systems. Yet when operations become abnormal, one element remains at the centre of almost every critical decision — the person interpreting what is happening.

That is why human factors have become an increasingly important part of safety-critical training.

Technical competency remains fundamental. A driller needs to understand the well. A supervisor needs to understand pressure, barriers and well-control procedures. A confined-space team needs to understand atmospheric hazards, isolation and emergency response.

But knowing the technical answer does not automatically guarantee the correct decision will be made under pressure.

Routine operations create familiarity.

That familiarity is useful, but it can also influence how people interpret information.

Imagine a drilling operation where several small indicators begin appearing. Individually, none appears particularly significant. The crew is busy, the operation has been progressing normally and there is pressure to complete the task.

Does somebody recognise that those indicators collectively suggest something has changed?

More importantly, are they prepared to say so?

The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers identifies human-performance areas including situational awareness, decision-making, communication, teamwork and leadership within its well-control resources. These recognise that effective well control involves both technical systems and the way people interact with them. (iogp.org)

Situational awareness begins with recognising what is happening now.

What are the pressures telling us?

What has changed?

What information does not fit what we expected?

But good situational awareness also requires thinking ahead.

If this continues, what happens next?

That question is relevant far beyond drilling.

During confined-space operations, it may involve recognising deteriorating atmospheric conditions. During lifting operations, it could be noticing people moving toward an exclusion zone. During forklift operations, it may be recognising that visibility has become restricted.

Workers need the confidence to stop, reassess and communicate when conditions no longer match the plan.

Training should give them opportunities to practise doing exactly that.

Communication becomes particularly important when authority gradients exist.

A less experienced worker may recognise something abnormal but hesitate to challenge a supervisor. A driller may notice an unexpected trend but initially rationalise it because other members of the team appear unconcerned.

Good safety culture depends on people being able to raise concerns early.

This is one reason scenario-based training can be so valuable.

Instead of simply asking a participant what a procedure says, the trainer can provide incomplete information, introduce changing conditions and require the group to communicate, prioritise and make decisions.

The discussion afterwards can be as valuable as the scenario itself.

Why did you make that decision?

What information influenced you?

What did you miss?

Who communicated effectively?

At what point should the operation have stopped?

Well control demonstrates particularly clearly why technical and human performance cannot be separated.

IWCF’s Enhanced Well Control programme was developed for experienced personnel and combines technical well-control knowledge with crew resource management principles. The programme uses simulation and real industry incidents to develop areas including leadership, communication, situational awareness and decision-making. (iwcf.org)

There is an important lesson in that approach for the wider training industry.

Sometimes the most valuable training scenario is not the one where everything goes according to plan.

It is the one where something changes.

Procedures remain essential. They provide consistency, establish controls and capture lessons learned across industry.

But procedures still require people to interpret conditions and recognise when the situation in front of them is moving outside what was expected.

At AWCC, this is increasingly important across our training — from IWCF and TURBO through to confined-space rescue, High Risk Work and safety-critical short courses.

Where appropriate, training should challenge participants with questions and changing scenarios rather than simply providing answers.

Because the objective is not to make training unnecessarily difficult.

It is to create a safe environment where people can practise making decisions before those decisions carry real consequences.

Equipment will continue to improve. Technology will continue to provide better information. Procedures will continue to evolve.

But somebody still has to recognise what that information means and decide what happens next.

That is why developing human performance should sit alongside technical competency as one of the most important outcomes of safety-critical training.

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A certificate confirms that training and assessment requirements have been met. What happens after that certificate is issued is where competency really matters.

Across oil and gas, resources and heavy industry, workers operate around complex equipment, stored energy, pressure, hazardous atmospheres, mobile plant and changing operational conditions. In these environments, knowing a procedure is important.

Being able to apply that knowledge when conditions are no longer straightforward is something else entirely.

That is why practical training remains such an important part of workforce development.

There is a significant difference between being able to describe a task and being able to perform it safely.

Consider confined space entry.

A worker may understand atmospheric testing, isolation, permits and entry requirements in a classroom. But place that person in front of an actual vessel or confined space and additional questions immediately appear.

Where should the atmosphere be tested? What could enter the space? Has every energy source genuinely been isolated? What happens if conditions change? Where is the standby person positioned? How will an emergency response actually work?

The same applies to working at heights, forklift operations, emergency response and oil and gas activities.

Practical training gives participants an opportunity to connect individual pieces of knowledge into a complete operation.

For AWCC, this principle has influenced the continued development of our training facilities and equipment.

Wherever practicable, students should be able to see, touch and operate the equipment they are learning about.

In well control, that means understanding components such as BOP equipment, choke manifolds, hydraulic control systems and drilling-fluid systems rather than viewing them only as diagrams.

AWCC’s purpose-built fluid transfer training system, for example, incorporates equipment including a hopper, mixing and trip tanks, shaker, desander, desilter and mud gas separator. It allows training conversations about drilling-fluid circulation and processing to move from a drawing into something students can physically examine.

For entry-level TURBO students, that exposure helps build familiarity with equipment and terminology before entering industry.

For experienced personnel, practical equipment can provide the connection between technical theory and years of operational experience.

Neither replaces the other.

One of the greatest advantages of practical training is that students can encounter problems without the consequences associated with getting them wrong in the workplace.

Training can introduce changing conditions, incorrect assumptions or unexpected information and require the participant to stop and reconsider the task.

That process is valuable.

A student who makes an error during training has an opportunity to understand why it happened, correct it and learn from it.

In the field, the same mistake may involve considerably greater consequences.

Simulation is particularly valuable in well control for this reason. A well-control simulator can require drillers and supervisors to recognise changing well conditions, interpret information, communicate with the crew and respond appropriately as a scenario develops.

The learning is not simply in operating the controls.

It is in making decisions.

Equipment alone does not create quality training.

An experienced trainer knows when to stop an exercise and ask a question.

Why did you do that?

What are you looking for?

What would happen if this condition changed?

What is your next action?

Those questions force students to explain their reasoning rather than simply reproduce a sequence they have memorised.

For industry training, that is critical.

Procedures provide structure, but workplaces are dynamic. Equipment changes. Conditions change. People change. Hazards can emerge during the task.

Training therefore needs to develop people who can recognise when the situation in front of them no longer matches the expected plan.

Practical training does not attempt to recreate years of field experience.

It cannot.

Experience is developed through time, exposure, supervision and working alongside competent people.

But quality practical training can provide a much stronger foundation upon which that experience is built.

That is particularly important as the oil and gas industry brings new personnel into the workforce while existing workers continue developing into more senior and safety-critical positions.

The objective should never be simply to produce more certificates.

It should be to develop people who understand the equipment, recognise the hazards, communicate effectively and can apply what they have learned when they return to the workplace.

At AWCC, that remains one of the fundamental principles behind our approach to training:

Don’t just tell someone how a task should be done. Give them the opportunity to understand it, practise it and demonstrate that they can do it.

Because ultimately, the value of training is not measured by what happens in the training room.

It is measured by what the person does when they return to the field.

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A training course can have excellent facilities, quality equipment and well-developed resources, but ultimately it is the person standing in front of the students who brings the training to life.

As Australian Well Control Centre expands its High Risk Work training capability, Robbie O brings nine years of forklift training experience to AWCC, strengthening the practical experience behind our delivery of TLILIC0003 – Licence to Operate a Forklift Truck.

For Robbie, forklift training is about much more than teaching someone how to manoeuvre a machine through an assessment course.

It is about developing an operator who understands what is happening around them.

Over nine years of delivering forklift training, Robbie has worked with people arriving with very different levels of experience.

Some have spent years around forklifts and material-handling operations. Others may be getting behind the controls for the first time.

That creates one of the challenges of quality High Risk Work training: recognising what each student already knows while ensuring that every candidate develops the knowledge, practical skills and safe operating behaviours required of a competent forklift operator.

Experience also teaches a trainer something that cannot be gained simply by reading a training package — where operators commonly make mistakes.

Forklift incidents continue to demonstrate the consequences of poor visibility, instability, excessive speed, inadequate separation from pedestrians and incorrect load handling. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland identifies each of these as significant forklift risks.

They are therefore issues that deserve more than a passing reference during training.

One of the most important skills an operator can develop is situational awareness.

Before moving a load, an operator should already be thinking about the condition and capacity of the forklift, the load itself, the route of travel, surface conditions, overhead hazards, blind spots, pedestrians and other mobile plant.

The national assessment requirements for TLILIC0003 specifically require candidates to consider factors such as surface suitability, collision risks, weather conditions, operational checks and workplace procedures. Assessment must occur in workplace operational situations or realistic simulated workplace conditions — and simulators cannot be used for assessment.

That practical focus aligns strongly with Robbie’s approach to training.

Students need time operating the equipment, handling loads and learning to recognise how seemingly small decisions can affect the stability and safety of an operation.

A forklift may be commonplace, but it is still powerful mobile plant. Even at low speeds, the consequences of getting an operation wrong can be severe.

Recent Queensland incidents continue to reinforce that point. In 2026, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland issued safety alerts following workers being struck by forklifts and another incident involving pipe falling during forklift operations. The regulator again highlighted controls including pedestrian separation, exclusion zones, appropriate load handling, visibility and effective traffic management.

Robbie’s arrival also represents the next stage in AWCC’s continued expansion beyond our traditional oil and gas training capability.

The same principles that underpin well control, confined space, working at heights and other safety-critical training apply equally to High Risk Work: understand the hazard, understand the equipment, follow the process and never allow familiarity to replace discipline.

For AWCC, having a trainer with nine years of forklift training experience provides an important foundation as we grow this area of the business.

For Robbie, the objective remains straightforward.

The measure of successful training is not simply whether somebody walks away having completed a course.

It is whether they return to their workplace as a safer, more capable and more aware operator.

That is the standard AWCC wants associated with its forklift training — and the experience Robbie brings to the training floor will play an important part in achieving it.

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For decades, one of the greatest challenges facing people wanting to enter Australia’s onshore drilling and well servicing industry has been surprisingly simple: how do you gain industry experience when you need an industry opportunity to gain that experience?

It is a problem Australian Well Control Centre set out to address when it launched the TURBO program.

Today, the program has developed into an established pathway for people seeking to prepare themselves for entry-level roles across drilling and well servicing, while also providing employers with another option for preparing new starters before they arrive at the rig.

At the centre of TURBO is the nationally recognised RII21120 Certificate II in Oil & Gas Drilling (Onshore) and Well Servicing.

The qualification itself is specifically designed for roles including roustabout, lease hand, utility operator, floorman and motorman. It requires completion of 12 units of competency — six core and six electives — covering the fundamental skills expected of personnel beginning their careers in onshore drilling and well servicing.

Historically, completing an entry-level drilling qualification could be difficult for somebody outside the industry.

The conventional pathway often relied heavily on gaining employment first, developing competency in the workplace and completing training and assessment while working operationally.

That pathway remains entirely appropriate in many circumstances.

But it created a significant barrier for people trying to obtain their first opportunity.

TURBO approached the problem differently.

Rather than waiting for somebody to secure a position before beginning their development, AWCC created an intensive training pathway that allows eligible participants to undertake the Certificate II through structured training and assessment at AWCC’s facilities.

The current TURBO Cert II program is delivered over seven days at AWCC’s Brisbane or Toowoomba training centres.

Importantly, this isn’t about pretending that seven days of training creates an experienced rig worker.

It doesn’t.

There is no substitute for working on a rig, learning from experienced crews and developing competence through exposure to real operations.

What TURBO can do is give somebody a stronger starting point.

The qualification includes competencies covering workplace communication, risk control, emergency situations, environmental and heritage considerations, safe work practices and rig lease operations. Depending on the selected electives, participants can also undertake competencies relevant to areas such as gas testing, confined spaces, working at heights and other operational activities.

That creates an important distinction.

Instead of arriving at an employer with little understanding of the operating environment, a TURBO graduate has already been exposed to the terminology, hazards, equipment, expectations and safety disciplines associated with the industry.

They are still an entry-level worker.

But they are an entry-level worker who has started the learning process.

For employers managing recruitment, mobilisation and onboarding, that can be valuable.

Perhaps the most significant measure of TURBO’s development has been the number of graduates who have subsequently moved into industry employment.

AWCC has now seen TURBO participants progress into drilling and well servicing opportunities across the sector. The program has also developed relationships with industry employers and provides graduates with pathways to be considered for potential employment opportunities through AWCC’s workforce network.

That distinction is important: TURBO does not guarantee employment.

No responsible training provider should.

Employment decisions remain with employers and depend on vacancies, suitability, medical and fitness requirements, recruitment processes and industry conditions.

What TURBO provides is preparation and an opportunity to become more competitive when those positions arise.

Queensland Government support has further strengthened that pathway. AWCC’s RTO, Servitium Group Pty Ltd (RTO 41356), is currently listed by the Queensland Skills Gateway as an approved funded provider for RII21120.

TURBO’s success ultimately represents something larger than one training program.

Australia’s drilling and well servicing sector continually needs to develop its next generation of workers. Experienced personnel remain critical, but experience has to begin somewhere.

The challenge for industry is creating pathways that introduce new people without lowering expectations around competency or safety.

That is where TURBO has found its place.

It does not replace experience.

It does not replace employer induction, supervision or ongoing development.

And it does not promise somebody a career simply because they complete a qualification.

Instead, it provides something much more practical:

a place to start.

For the hundreds of people who have already taken that first step through TURBO, the program is demonstrating that with the right training, realistic expectations and industry connection, the gap between wanting an opportunity and being ready for one can become considerably smaller.

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A career in oil and gas can take someone from an entry-level leasehand position to drilling, well servicing, production, maintenance, supervision and specialist technical roles. But careers in this industry rarely develop by accident.

The people who build long careers tend to understand an important distinction:

Getting a job and building a career are two different things.

Australia’s energy and resources workforce continues to change. Employers need experienced people, but they also need the next generation of workers entering the industry with the right attitude, training and expectations. Queensland’s new Resources Workforce Plan reflects this challenge, with 29 workforce and training initiatives aimed at developing a skilled, adaptable and resilient resources workforce.

So, what can an individual do to put themselves in the strongest position? The best was is with the AWCC TURBO program.

For somebody entering the industry, qualifications can help open the door, but they don’t replace workplace performance.

Understand the fundamentals: hazard identification, risk management, communication, permit systems, emergency response and the basic operating environment you are trying to enter.

If you are applying for drilling or well servicing roles, learn the language of the rig. Understand the difference between a leasehand, floorhand, derrickhand and driller. Know what a BOP is, why well control matters and what is expected during a 12-hour shift.

Turning up to an interview having researched the industry immediately separates you from someone simply chasing a FIFO job.

One of the most common mistakes people make is believing that a wallet full of cards automatically makes them employable.

Training should have a purpose.

Ask yourself: What role am I targeting, and what competencies are actually relevant to that role?

Working at Heights, Confined Space, Gas Test Atmospheres, Forklift, First Aid and other competencies can be valuable, but their relevance depends on the position.

The same principle applies once you are established. Choose training that supports your next responsibility rather than accumulating qualifications with no clear career direction.

This focus on genuine workforce capability is increasingly important. Energy Skills Queensland identifies competency assurance, workforce readiness and industry-aligned training as key components of developing Queensland’s energy workforce.

Oil and gas is a surprisingly small industry.

Your reputation can travel between rigs, companies and basins faster than your résumé.

Be the person who turns up early, listens, asks sensible questions and completes the job properly. Look after equipment. Keep your paperwork right. Accept feedback without becoming defensive.

Most importantly, don’t pretend to know something you don’t.

A supervisor can teach an inexperienced worker. It is considerably harder to manage someone who is inexperienced but believes otherwise.

Some of the most valuable career development in oil and gas happens during a shift.

Watch experienced operators. Ask why something is being done, not simply what is being done.

If you are a floorhand who wants to become a derrickhand, start learning the mud system. If you want to become a driller, understand what the driller is monitoring and why. If supervision is your goal, start developing your understanding of well control, leadership, communication and decision-making.

The next position should begin being learned before you are promoted into it.

Experienced workers can also become complacent about training.

Don’t wait until mobilisation to discover that a competency has expired, your medical needs updating or an employer requires something you haven’t completed.

Maintain a record of your qualifications and expiry dates. Keep your résumé current and document significant equipment, operations and responsibilities you have been exposed to.

That becomes increasingly important as careers progress and competency requirements become more specialised.

Recruitment in oil and gas can move quickly.

A drilling contractor may not need you today, but that can change when another rig mobilises, a campaign receives approval or a crew vacancy suddenly appears.

Have your résumé ready. Know your availability. Understand your medical and licence requirements. Keep your phone number and email current with recruiters and companies you have approached.

And when someone does contact you, respond professionally.

Your Career Is Your Responsibility

There is strong emphasis across Queensland’s resources sector on developing workforce capability and improving pathways into industry. The Queensland Resources Council describes access to a highly skilled workforce and development of the future talent pipeline as critical to the sustainability of the resources sector.

But industry can only create the opportunity.

The individual still has to prepare for it.

Whether you are trying to secure your first position or working toward becoming a driller, supervisor or specialist, continue developing your knowledge, maintain your competencies and build a reputation people remember for the right reasons.

Don’t simply train for the job you have today. Prepare yourself for the position you want next.

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Forklifts are a familiar sight across Australian industry, but familiarity should never be confused with simplicity. From warehouses and workshops to construction sites, maintenance facilities and oil and gas operations, forklifts operate in environments where people, vehicles, equipment and loads are often working within the same space.

For Australian Well Control Centre (AWCC), the delivery of forklift training represents another step in building practical training capability around the environments in which our clients actually operate.

AWCC is now delivering TLILIC0003 – Licence to Operate a Forklift Truck, bringing forklift training into our broader suite of safety, high-risk and industry training.

The addition is important, but our focus is not simply on adding another course to the calendar.

It is about how that training is delivered.

TLILIC0003 covers the skills and knowledge required to safely operate a forklift truck and is based on the national High Risk Work Licence requirements. The training encompasses the complete operational process: planning the task, preparing the machine and work area, performing forklift operations safely and completing shutdown and pack-up activities.

That includes understanding load capacity and data plates, conducting pre-start and operational checks, identifying hazards, assessing loads, maintaining stability and operating safely around other people and equipment.

In Queensland, forklift operation is classified as high-risk work. Operators must hold the appropriate High Risk Work Licence unless they fall within specific exemptions, including undertaking approved training under appropriate supervision. Following training, the licensing assessment must be undertaken by an accredited High Risk Work assessor.

These requirements establish the minimum standard. AWCC‘s objective is to build beyond it.

A competent operator needs to understand not only how to operate a forklift, but what can happen when conditions change.

A different load, an attachment, restricted visibility, uneven operating surfaces, pedestrians entering the work area or a poorly considered travel path can fundamentally change the risk profile of what appears to be a routine lift.

That is where experience and quality training matter.

AWCC’s approach is centred on practical application.

Students are expected to develop the discipline that should accompany every forklift task: inspect the machine, understand its capacity, assess the operating environment, identify hazards, plan the movement and maintain control throughout the operation.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland specifically identifies issues including safe operating speeds, travelling with loads appropriately lowered, operating within rated capacity, using seatbelts where provided and maintaining separation between forklifts and pedestrians as fundamental elements of safe forklift operation.

These are not simply assessment points. They are behaviours that need to remain with an operator after the course has finished.

The introduction of forklift training also reflects AWCC’s continued development as an industry training provider.

Our clients increasingly require training across multiple competencies. Being able to bring forklift training alongside areas such as load restraint, working at heights, confined space, gas testing, emergency response and oil and gas-specific training provides greater flexibility for both employers and individuals.

It also allows us to apply something AWCC has learned through years of technical and safety-critical training:

Good training should prepare somebody for the workplace, not simply prepare them for an assessment.

Forklift training may be a new chapter in AWCC’s training capability, but the philosophy behind it remains unchanged — practical training, experienced trainers and a strong connection between what happens in the classroom and what people will be expected to do when they return to industry.

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For contractors, training providers and workers across Australia’s oil and gas industry, the question is always the same: where is the next wave of work coming from?

As we move into the final quarter of 2026, several developments are beginning to provide a clearer answer.

Queensland’s Surat Basin remains central to near-term activity, while the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin is moving into a completely different stage of development following the commencement of first gas. Together, these projects point toward ongoing requirements for drilling, completions, construction, maintenance, logistics and skilled personnel.

One of the clearest commitments came in August when Shell announced the next phase of its QGC development in Queensland.

The program involves the construction and connection of 137 new wells across existing permit areas near Wandoan, Chinchilla and Tara. Gas from the program is expected from 2027 and will supply both the Queensland Curtis LNG operation and domestic customers.

Shell expects the project to support approximately 300 jobs, while also creating opportunities for regional contractors and suppliers.

For the service sector, a well program of this scale extends far beyond drilling itself. Development requires site preparation, civil works, rig services, completions, wellhead activities, gathering infrastructure, commissioning, logistics and ongoing maintenance.

Arrow Energy is also progressing the next stage of its Surat Gas Project.

The company announced that development of Surat Gas Project Central, south of Chinchilla, is expected to begin in late 2026. Construction of production infrastructure and associated facilities is planned over approximately seven years, with first gas targeted for 2028. Arrow says its Surat operations currently support more than 1,000 workers, including a substantial contractor workforce.

Taken together, these developments reinforce the Western Downs as one of the most important areas to watch for continuing gas-sector employment and contracting opportunities.

The Beetaloo Basin is entering an equally important phase.

On 1 September 2026, first gas from the Shenandoah South Pilot Project began flowing through APA Group’s new Sturt Plateau Pipeline into the Amadeus Gas Pipeline and the Northern Territory market.

That milestone changes the conversation around the Beetaloo.

The basin is no longer solely an exploration story.

Tamboran has outlined continued drilling activity, while Beetaloo Energy Australia is targeting production from its Carpentaria development before the end of 2026. Santos and other industry participants are also progressing exploration and appraisal programs.

That means continuing requirements for unconventional drilling, hydraulic fracturing, wireline, cementing, fluids, well control, transport and remote-area support.

Perhaps the most significant longer-term opportunity is the infrastructure required if Beetaloo production continues to grow.

On 2 September, APA Group confirmed that its proposed North to East Australia Pipeline had received Coordinated Project status in Queensland, formally commencing the environmental assessment process.

The proposed pipeline would create a connection between Northern Territory gas and the east-coast network through Queensland. It remains subject to approvals and investment decisions, so construction should not yet be treated as committed work. However, reaching the formal assessment stage represents an important step forward.

There is an important distinction between a project announcement and somebody starting work tomorrow.

Major developments move through approvals, procurement, contracting, mobilisation and construction before the employment effect is fully visible.

But the direction of travel matters.

New wells are being sanctioned in Queensland. New development areas are beginning construction. Beetaloo gas is now physically flowing, and infrastructure planning is advancing.

For personnel considering their next move, this is the time to ensure qualifications and competencies are current rather than waiting until recruitment accelerates.

For employers, it is equally important to maintain a pipeline of trained personnel capable of moving into operational roles.

The Australian onshore sector will continue to move through cycles, and individual projects will change.

But one principle remains constant:

when activity begins to increase, workforce readiness cannot be created overnight.

The organisations and individuals preparing now will be better positioned when the next mobilisation call arrives.

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Some of the most valuable knowledge in the oil and gas industry does not come from a PowerPoint presentation.

It comes from technical manuals that have been carried from rig to rig, well-control case studies discussed between crews, old drilling handbooks covered in handwritten notes, investigation reports, engineering references and the experiences of people who have spent decades working on wells.

At Australian Well Control Centre, we believe that knowledge is worth preserving and sharing.

AWCC is establishing an Industry and Well Control Library for students, instructors and industry personnel — creating a dedicated technical resource where people can continue learning beyond their formal training.

The objective is not simply to fill shelves.

We want to progressively develop a practical reference collection covering drilling operations, well control, pressure control, well intervention, drilling fluids, BOP systems, cementing, completions, workover operations, well integrity, human factors and the history of our industry.

Importantly, the library will also include material examining real well-control events and the lessons learned from them.

This is particularly valuable in well control because incidents provide an opportunity to understand how technical, operational and human factors can combine.

The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers maintains a Well Control Incident Lesson Sharing system specifically to allow the wider industry to learn from incidents and near misses and reduce the likelihood of similar events being repeated. Its well-control resources also address human-performance areas including situational awareness, communication, decision-making, leadership and teamwork.

Those subjects belong alongside pressure calculations and equipment knowledge.

Modern well-control training is necessarily structured.

The IWCF syllabus establishes defined learning objectives and measurable outcomes, with particular emphasis placed on safety-critical areas including barrier management, kick warning signs and indicators, secondary well control and appropriate responses to developing well conditions.

That structure is essential for maintaining an internationally consistent training and assessment standard.

But good technical development should not stop when the assessment finishes.

A student may learn what happens when formation pressure exceeds hydrostatic pressure. A reference library allows them to explore that subject further: Why did it happen on a particular well? What indications were available? What did the crew observe? What decisions were made? What barriers were available? What would we do differently today?

Those are the questions that turn information into understanding.

IWCF itself increasingly supports continuous learning through digital study aids, e-learning and technical learning resources before and after formal training.

AWCC wants the physical library to complement that approach.

There is another important reason for establishing the library.

The oil and gas industry has an enormous amount of knowledge sitting in the personal collections of experienced people.

Many senior drillers, toolpushers, drilling superintendents, engineers and well-control specialists have accumulated technical books, manuals and reference material throughout their careers. When those people leave the industry, much of that material can disappear with them.

AWCC would like to provide a home for some of it.

As the library develops, we will welcome appropriate donations of drilling, well-control and oil and gas technical books, historical training material and industry reference publications that experienced personnel believe could benefit the next generation.

Where appropriate, donated collections can also recognise the person who contributed them — allowing part of their industry experience to continue educating people long after they have left the rig floor.

The ultimate objective is bigger than a library.

We want students arriving early for an IWCF course to pick up a drilling reference and start reading.

We want a TURBO student to be able to see how the equipment they are learning about fits into the wider well construction process.

We want an experienced supervisor to find a case study that starts a technical discussion with another candidate.

And we want instructors to be able to point students toward reliable material when a classroom discussion creates a question worth exploring further.

The industry’s approach to well-control competency continues to evolve. IWCF’s Enhanced Well Control programme, for example, deliberately incorporates real industry incidents, scenario-based simulation, teamwork, leadership, situational awareness and decision-making into the development of experienced personnel.

That reinforces an important principle.

It is a professional discipline that deserves continuous study.

AWCC’s Industry and Well Control Library will be a relatively small addition to our training centres when measured in square metres.

But if it encourages one more technical conversation, preserves the experience of another generation, or helps somebody understand why rather than simply remember what, its value to our students and industry could be considerably greater.

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In well control, preparation is fundamental. The same principle should apply to well control training.

For personnel attending an IWCF Drilling Well Control Level 3 or Level 4 course, the training week is intensive. Candidates are required to work across well control principles, calculations, equipment, procedures and practical simulator scenarios before completing internationally recognised assessments.

At Australian Well Control Centre (AWCC), one of the areas we continue to emphasise is pre-course preparation.

Not because candidates should arrive already knowing everything, but because valuable classroom time should be spent developing well control understanding rather than trying to rebuild fundamental knowledge from the beginning.

IWCF’s training framework is deliberately built around defined learning objectives and measurable learning outcomes. Higher-importance areas include safety-critical subjects such as barrier management, kick warning signs and indicators, secondary well control and appropriate responses to developing well conditions.

The objective is therefore much greater than passing an examination.

It is about understanding why something is happening downhole, recognising the information available at surface and determining the appropriate response.

That distinction matters.

A candidate might remember a formula. A competent well control professional needs to understand when to use it, what the result means and whether that result makes operational sense.

At AWCC, this is where preparation can make a significant difference.

Candidates who revise fundamental calculations, terminology, well-control concepts and their own areas of weakness before arriving are better positioned to engage with the more complex material during the course.

IWCF itself provides a free Well Control and Pressure Control Calculations e-learning resource covering volumes, capacities and displacements, tripping and wellbore geometry, gas laws and circulating systems. Importantly, IWCF describes this as preparation rather than a replacement for instructor-led training.

For Level 3 and Level 4 Drilling Well Control, theory is only part of the requirement.

IWCF requires a minimum of 32 hours of training and candidates complete two theory assessments together with a practical simulator assessment. A minimum mark of 70% in each assessment is required. Level 3 and Level 4 certification is valid for two years.

The practical assessment is particularly important because the responsibilities differ according to role.

At Level 3, the candidate is assessed in the Driller role, including recognising and responding to a drilling break and influx and communicating relevant information to the supervisor. At Level 4, the candidate assumes the Supervisor role, collecting shut-in information, directing the response, commencing the appropriate kill operation and recognising and responding to problems as the scenario develops.

This is where genuine understanding becomes visible.

A simulator does not simply test whether somebody can perform a calculation. It requires candidates to interpret changing information, maintain situational awareness and make decisions while an operation is developing.

AWCC’s approach to pre-course planning is straightforward: identify gaps early rather than discovering them late in the training week.

Candidates should know which IWCF level is appropriate to their role, ensure their candidate registration is current, review relevant fundamentals and arrive prepared to participate from the beginning. IWCF aligns programme levels with role and experience, with Level 3 intended for equipment operators who perform actions to prevent or respond to well-control incidents and Level 4 for supervisors responsible for ensuring the correct actions are carried out.

For experienced personnel returning for recertification, preparation is equally important. Two years can pass quickly, and day-to-day operations may not regularly expose someone to every calculation, procedure or abnormal scenario contained within the syllabus.

Ultimately, AWCC does not view IWCF success as simply achieving a passing mark.

The assessment matters, and certification matters. But the real measure of successful well control training occurs after the candidate leaves the training centre.

When something changes on a well, can they recognise it?

Do they understand what the pressures are telling them?

Can they make the correct decision when the situation is no longer routine?

That is why preparation matters — because in well control, competence must extend far beyond the examination room.

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In high-risk industries such as mining, construction, energy, transport, manufacturing, and emergency services, frontline leaders play a critical role in shaping both safety and performance. While systems, procedures, and technology are essential, it is often the actions of supervisors, team leaders, and frontline managers that determine whether people go home safely at the end of each shift.

Great frontline leaders do far more than manage tasks. They influence behaviours, build trust, drive accountability, and create environments where people feel confident to speak up about risks. Their leadership has a direct impact on safety culture, productivity, engagement, and operational excellence.

One of the defining traits of exceptional frontline leaders is their commitment to visible and consistent leadership. Employees are more likely to follow safety processes when they see their leaders actively demonstrating safe behaviours themselves.

Great leaders lead by example. They wear the correct PPE, follow procedures without shortcuts, participate in safety discussions, and address hazards promptly. They understand that every action sends a message about what is truly valued within the organisation.

When leaders consistently reinforce safe behaviours, they create a culture where safety is seen as a shared responsibility rather than a compliance exercise.

High-risk environments demand clear, honest, and frequent communication. Frontline leaders are often the critical link between organisational strategy and day-to-day operational reality.

The best leaders communicate expectations clearly and encourage two-way conversations. They listen actively, ask questions, and seek input from the people closest to the work. By creating psychologically safe environments where workers feel comfortable raising concerns, reporting incidents, or challenging unsafe practices, leaders gain valuable insights that can prevent serious incidents.

Trust is built when workers know their voices are heard and that concerns will be taken seriously.

Technical expertise may earn respect, but emotional intelligence earns influence.

Frontline leaders regularly manage diverse teams operating under pressure, often in challenging conditions. Great leaders recognise that every worker brings unique experiences, strengths, and challenges to the workplace.

They demonstrate empathy, remain calm during stressful situations, and understand how their behaviour affects team morale. They can have difficult conversations when needed while maintaining respect and professionalism.

Leaders with strong emotional intelligence are better equipped to identify signs of fatigue, stress, or disengagement—factors that can significantly increase risk in high-hazard environments.

Strong safety cultures thrive on accountability, but accountability is most effective when it focuses on learning rather than blame.

Great frontline leaders set clear expectations and hold themselves and their teams responsible for meeting them. When mistakes occur, they seek to understand what happened and why, rather than immediately looking for someone to fault.

This approach encourages reporting, supports continuous improvement, and helps uncover the underlying factors that contribute to incidents. Workers are more likely to raise concerns when they know they will be treated fairly and constructively.

Exceptional frontline leaders see every interaction as an opportunity to coach and develop their people. Rather than simply correcting issues, they invest time in building capability and confidence.

They provide regular feedback, recognise positive behaviours, and help workers understand not only what needs to be done, but why it matters. Through coaching, leaders strengthen competence, improve decision-making, and help individuals take ownership of their safety and performance.

Organisations that invest in developing frontline leadership often see improvements in both operational outcomes and employee engagement.

High-risk industries are constantly evolving. New technologies, changing regulations, workforce demographics, and operational pressures require leaders who can adapt quickly.

Great frontline leaders remain flexible while maintaining high standards. They are open to innovation, willing to learn, and capable of leading teams through change. They understand that resilience is not about resisting change—it is about helping people navigate it successfully.

Their ability to adapt while maintaining focus on safety and operational goals helps teams remain effective even in uncertain circumstances.

The most effective frontline leaders combine technical competence with strong interpersonal skills. They lead by example, communicate openly, build trust, develop their people, and foster environments where safety and performance go hand in hand.

In high-risk industries, leadership is not defined by position or title—it is demonstrated through daily actions and decisions. When organisations develop and support strong frontline leaders, they create safer workplaces, stronger teams, and better business outcomes.

Ultimately, great frontline leadership is one of the most powerful tools any organisation has for managing risk, improving culture, and achieving sustainable success.

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Three recent incidents from across the Australian oil and gas industry share a common, uncomfortable thread. None resulted in serious injury, yet each was rated by investigators as having the potential to cause a fatality, or worse. In every case, the root cause traces back to the same failure: a hazard that had become normalised, or a deviation from procedure that was never properly risk-assessed.

During a well workover, a crew was pulling tubing out of hole “wet,” with crude oil still present, draining through a mud bucket into the cellar. After twelve joints, static electricity ignited the crude. The fire spread through the cellar before the Emergency Shutdown was activated and handheld extinguishers brought it under control. No one was harmed. No well containment was lost. But the investigation found the potential consequence was multiple fatalities.

The technical cause was electrostatic discharge: high-velocity, splashing crude built up static charge on ungrounded and insulating materials in low humidity until it arced to a grounded conductor. The organisational cause was more revealing. Tripping wet was a long-accepted practice on this well, the stuck sucker rod pump hadn’t triggered proper stuck-pump management, and the ignition hazard associated with tripping wet had never been specifically identified in any procedure or risk assessment. It had simply been done this way before, without incident.

The response addressed both layers: ceasing all wet trips outright, tightening stuck-pump management, auditing rig hoses for certified earth-bonded systems, and aligning static ignition controls with AS 1940 (Storage and Handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids).

A scaffolding team completing final adjustments around a crane pedestal dropped a 2.4 kg kickboard from a platform 6.5 metres up. No barriers or exclusion zones had been established beneath the work area, because the erection and adjustment phase itself hadn’t been treated as “working at height” for risk assessment purposes. The drop zone happened to sit directly above a walkway regularly used by welding crews. DROPS calculations rated the potential outcome as fatal.

The gap wasn’t equipment or training. It was coordination. Scaffolders and welders working the same footprint hadn’t held a toolbox discussion before work began, and loose items at height weren’t tethered. The fix, aligned with Safe Work Australia’s scaffolding guidance and the IOGP Life-Saving Rules, was procedural: tether everything staged at height, barricade exclusion zones whenever work or materials are aloft, and bring all parties sharing a work area into the conversation before the first tool goes up.

The third incident occurred during sea-fastening on a carousel, where a turnbuckle needed adjusting to align with a padeye. When the bottom section wouldn’t rotate freely, the crew improvised, lowering the turnbuckle to a 60-degree resting position and rotating the top section instead of the centre, as the procedure required. A 38 kg pin dislodged and fell 3.4 metres, missing a worker by roughly 400 millimetres.

The turnbuckle’s maintenance had lapsed, forcing the improvisation. But the deeper failure was that the deviation itself went unassessed. No one paused to evaluate what changed when the method changed, even though permit and risk assessment procedures existed. The response now requires a functional check of turnbuckles and locking pins before fastening begins, and mandates that any deviation from a Safe Work Method Statement triggers a fresh risk assessment, echoing the IOGP Life-Saving Rule to obtain authorisation before deviating from procedure.

Taken together, these three events point to lessons that reach beyond their specific tasks.

Accepted practice is not assessed practice. Tripping tubing wet had been done before without incident, and that history was mistaken for proof it was safe. It had simply never been tested against the wrong conditions. Any task that has become “how we’ve always done it” deserves a fresh look at whether the hazard was ever actually identified, or just never triggered.

Deviations need the same rigour as the original plan. The turnbuckle crew adapted sensibly to equipment that wasn’t working as designed, but the moment the method changed, so did the risk, and no one re-assessed. A Safe Work Method Statement is only as good as the discipline to stop and reassess when the situation stops matching it.

Task boundaries are often drawn too narrowly. The dropped kickboard occurred during scaffold erection, a phase never treated as “working at height” in its own right, above a walkway shared with welding crews who were never part of the risk conversation. Where work overlaps with other crews in time or space, the risk assessment has to extend to that overlap.

Every one of these incidents was rated a potential fatality, and every one was avoided by a narrow margin. That margin is not a control. The real test for any operation is whether hazards are identified and managed before the event, not how fortunate the outcome was after it. For crews and supervisors, that means treating routine tasks, adapted methods, and shared work areas as the places most likely to hide an unassessed risk, and building the habit of pausing to ask: what’s changed, and has anyone actually looked at it?

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