Floating LNG facilities could be the key to Australia’s energy employment future, says one major industry player.

Mining CEO John Anderson says the industry is concerned by Unions’ opposition to Floating LNG works, despite most companies being driven by necessity to employ the technology.

"There are some players who do see it as a break in play that they need to master, which they can then apply elsewhere globally, but I think the great majority of participants in the industry are not driven to do FLNG for its own sake," Mr Anderson told the Deutsche Bank Business Leaders Forum in Perth.

With predictions FLNG works will double by 2030, Mr Anderson said businesses must focus on creating jobs for trade-skilled Australians. Some construction Unions have campaigned strongly against the FLNG operations, saying they rob Australian builders of jobs and ongoing employment, as many of the purpose-built rigs are constructed overseas.

Shell Australia's former Chair Ann Pickard, who has touted FLNG as the saviour of the high-cost energy industry in Australia, has previously said their current 'Prelude' Floating LNG project will be "full of Australians" during its operational stage, "I think the more important things are the operation and maintenance jobs that are going to last for 20-25 years," she told a conference earlier this year, "they don't tend to put the stress on the communities that construction jobs do."