Questions

1. How long have you been working in the pipeline industry for and how did you come to work in the industry?

2. What has been the most important thing that you have learnt in the pipeline industry?

3. What have been the main changes that you have seen occur in the Australian pipeline industry over the last few years?

4. What are some of the key pipeline industry trends that are developing in the Australia in your view?

5. In your opinion, what does the future hold for Australia’s pipeline sector?

6. What advice would you give to a young person entering the pipeline industry?

Peter Cox, President

Company: WorleyParsons First elected: October 2005 Current term ends: 2011

1. In the early 1990s, I worked on gas compression on the Bass Strait platforms, which lead to gas compression on pipeline projects. I quickly saw that the pipeline industry was my true calling for my professional career and I haven’t looked back for the last 15 years.

2. I have learnt that success is directly linked to passion and commitment, and I see this in abundance within the pipeline industry.

3. There has been consolidation amongst pipeline owners and a strong shift back to combined owner/operator entities. The period of prosperity leading up to the global financial crisis (GFC) has seen existing industry players grow and a number of new entrants to the pipeline business emerge.

4. There has been a subtle shift towards relationship contracting and away from confrontational arrangements, although this trend seems to be reversing after the impact of the GFC and the more stringent requirements projected from project financiers.

5. The future is likely to see continued growth in the sector as gas gains more traction as the transitional fuel in a carbon constrained economy and the emerging carbon capture and storage industry creates the need for CO2 transportation.

6. Talk to the senior players in the business to understand the importance of the pipeline industry as part of the solution to our society’s energy needs, and become involved in the broader industry through the APIA’s many committees and activities.

Kevin Lester, Vice President

Company: AJ Lucas First elected: October 2008 Current term ends: 2010

1. I started with AJ Lucas in 1985 after graduating from th University of New South Wales so I have been in the industry for over 24 years.

2. It’s all about people – get the right people and they can make anything happen. The industry relies on quality people at all levels, probably more so than say a manufacturing industry.

3. Huge advances have been made in how we, as an industry and a population, address the areas of safety, quality and environment in regard to individuals, projects and the country. Innovations in design, quality and efficiency of construction equipment have also dramatically improved.

4. Gas is fast becoming the energy of choice for a host of reasons including being cleaner than coal and more reliable than renewable energy sources. The demand for gas is only going to increase as the population and our energy requirements grow. Because of this, the demand for gas infrastructure – including compressors and pipelines – is going to exponentially grow.

5. I think there is huge potential for the industry going forward – it’s an exciting time to be involved.

6. Get involved and be prepared to travel. Travel is a great experience and character building when you are young, even to the desert in the centre of Australia.

Richard Robinson, Treasurer

Company: Oil Search First elected: October 2008 Current term ends: 2010

1. I first became involved in the industry in 1978 when, as a young engineer with Esso, I was appointed Project Engineer for the replacement of the first 88 km of the 28 inch Longford to Long Island Point crude line.

2. That there is always a better and more efficient way of doing things – nothing ever stands still.

3. The most significant change in my time in the industry has been the change from public to private ownership of a great proportion of Australia’s gas transportation infrastructure and the flow-on issues of heavy-handed and inappropriate regulation; reduction in development of industry specific skills; and, subsequent loss of expertise.

4. I think the most exciting thing on our horizon at the moment is the opportunity for the industry that could come from carbon capture, transportation and storage. This will take some years to develop and will require a consistency of policy from the Federal Government, but the potential investment in pipeline infrastructure in this sector over the next two decades is many billions of dollars, which is great for all sections of our industry.

5. Personally I think the future is bright. The infrastructure ownership appears to have stabilised somewhat with generally mature owners that understand the requirements of the industry. We will be launching the Energy Pipelines Co-operative Research Centre in 2010, which will provide unprecedented levels of research specifically for our industry over the next ten years. We have some real energy behind improving the skill levels within the industry and have a significant critical mass of young people active in pipelines all coupled with an expected upswing in industry investment. I don’t think our industry has ever had a brighter future.

6. Make sure you spend considerable time in all parts of the industry. If you work in the office, make sure you spend time in the field and vice versa. If you work in operations, work on a design and construction project etc. It is important to have a good understanding of how hard the other bloke’s job is!

Ashley Kellett, Immediate Past President

Company: SEA Gas First elected: October 2004 Current term ends: 2011

1. Since 1988, when I joined the Office of Energy Planning and assisted with gas supply negotiations for the Pipelines Authority of South Australia (later to be privatised and ultimately to become Epic Energy).

2. The importance of working together to share operational information. There are so many common issues and we all benefit from the openness. The Pipeline Operators Group is an excellent example.

3. Two key things stand out. The construction of capacity solely to suit contracted demand, an unfortunate and inefficient result of the lack of pragmatism by economic regulators; and, the need to be politically aware and recognised (and we have punched above our weight here due to the diligence of Chief Executive Cheryl Cartwright).

4. Higher pressure pipelines to maximise capacity. Consolidation of ownership. Recognition of the age gap and focus on youth with encouraging results. Reversal of the earlier trend to outsource functions, with the result that industry knowledge may well be further developed and retained in the industry.

5. With gas in abundance for centuries and the obvious choice to halve our greenhouse gas emissions overnight, pipelines should have a critical role to play for many decades, albeit with different services demanded than current. The removal of CO2 and other gases for processing/sequestration is likely to be an emerging area ideally suited to pipelines. It could well be a golden age for pipelines but we must remain vigilant for emergent trends that could have negative impacts in the medium to long-term.

6. You are likely to have a lifetime of challenge and fulfilment in an industry that is critical to Australia’s growth and well-being. It is a close-knit, proud and highly professional industry that values its people.

Geoff Feurtado

Company: OneSteel First elected: October 2009 Current term ends: 2011

1. Over the past five years, I have become involved in the pipeline industry through my role as General Manager of OneSteel Piping Systems (incorporating OneSteel Oil & Gas Pipe), and prior to this, OneSteel Pipe & Tube.

2. As a supplier to the industry, we are exposed to new learnings everyday. One of these includes the importance of working across the supply chain, particularly in understanding the development of product and service solutions that deliver successful project outcomes.

3. One of the key changes has been the development of Australia’s east coast pipeline infrastructure to accommodate the growth of the coal seam gas (CSG) to LNG industry. Additionally, a notable technical change in recent years concerns the Pipeline Design Code, which now allows pipelines to have a 10 per cent reduction in wall thickness. While this provides great benefit to the industry by reducing material cost, it is posing some challenges to designers, constructors and manufacturers in meeting higher performance levels for attributes like fracture toughness, field hydrotest design and cold field bending.

4. The key themes emerging in Australia’s pipeline industry for suppliers include improved management and allocation of risk, more efficient trading methods, technical and commercial innovation, quality management and reliability of supply.

5. Australia’s pipeline sector is potentially facing a period of unprecedented growth, which will be accompanied by a number of challenges. This is particularly the case in terms of the capability of local supply chains to support the massive amount of infrastructure development required, driven by the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and associated demand for natural gas, as well as CSG to LNG growth.

6. This is an exciting time to build an internationally portable career in a growth industry, with opportunities across a broad range of disciplines.

Mick McCormack

Company: APA Group First elected: October 2004 Current term ends: 2010

1. Since 1985 when I was working for a contractor as part of an intelligent pigging program on the Moonie to Brisbane Oil Pipeline. My job was to locate the dig-up sites identified by the intelligent pig.

2. How to get on with people.

3. For me, a welcome trend back to the more traditional style pipeline business model, where pipeline operators run businesses with long-term perspectives, and not the fee driven, externally managed business model that has been in vogue up until the last year or two.

4. A couple of things: the continued emphasis of safety is very heartening to me; the intelligence that I see being applied these days in the research and standards, and materials areas; and, with the start-up of the Energy Pipelines Co-operative Research Centre, a serious lift in the education and knowledge opportunities for those that will lead the industry in the future.

5. I firmly believe the sector’s best days are in front of it, particularly for gas pipelines. You only need to look at the exponential growth in gas reverses that have emerged over the last couple of years, together with the expected rapid increase in gas demand brought about by carbon reducing policy settings to see that the pipeline industry has a very bright future.

6. Spend as much time as you can in the field and get a real feel for the industry as early as you can. This is where you learn how to get on with a broad range of people, which is fundamental should you aspire to any leadership position.

Mark Cooper

Company: DBP Transmission First elected: October 2009 Current term ends: 2011

1. My involvement with the pipeline industry started in 1996. I was working with Consolidated Natural Gas on power projects around Australia and the Asia Pacific region, and a number of our opportunities involved integrating fuel supply with power generation and transmission.

2. ‘Do it safely, do it right, do it once’ is the key to a successful project.

3. The diversity in ownership of pipelines with few vertically integrated gas businesses now left in Australia has seen a change in the business approach from a primary focus on technical management to more stringent financial management with a greater awareness of shareholders by everyone in the industry.

4. The east coast is developing a pipeline network with interconnections between New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. Supply is coming from multiple sources, while on the west coast all of the pipelines are interconnected but the overwhelming proportion of supply is from the Carnarvon Basin. These developments are providing opportunities for pipelines to offer a broader range of services to both end users and producers of gas than the traditional point to point transportation services for which most of the pipelines were built.

5. We are facing challenges to adapt to a new gas market and changing customer (and financier) requirements. The pipeline industry has always adapted well to changing environments so the future is very bright.

6. In order to better contribute to your particular area of interest, find a mentor to help you to understand how the whole industry fits together – design, construction, operations, maintenance, commercial arrangements, financing, technical regulation, safety regulation as well as producers and customers. Then treat every ‘issue’ as a challenge or an opportunity to develop professionally and personally.

Murray Durham

Company: Durham Energy Consulting First elected: October 2007 Current term ends: 2011

1. Approximately 15 years. My involvement started when gas was discovered in the Otway Basin and it would require a new pipeline to take it to market.

2. I have learned that the industry must continually improve, both technically and commercially, to keep step with changes in the business environment and the requirements of Australia’s expanding resources sector.

3. There has been a period of ownership consolidation of transmission pipelines that has reduced the number of pipeline owner/operators.

4. There is a worrying gap in the age range of people in the pipeline industry. It is crucial that the industry attracts and trains people so that it has the people and resources to meet the demand for pipeline services into the future.

5. I believe that the pipeline sector will continue to see growth with much of it in areas such as gas gathering systems for coal seam gas, pipelines that link to gas storage, integrity testing and maintenance.

6. Your initial and on-going training is so important but get as much hands on experience as possible and make every effort to work with experienced Pipeliners.

Mark Dayman

Company: Fyfe First elected: October 2009 Current term ends: 2011

1. I originally started in the field on pipeline projects in 1984, however my recent involvement started in 1995 when Fyfe first became involved in pipeline work in the Cooper Basin.

2. The pipeline industry is a very dynamic and changing industry and I have learnt that as a company you need to be continually moving ahead to keep up with these changes.

3. The interest of large companies in the upstream side of the industry such as coal seam gas.

4. The trend is for more gas consumption in the future both here in Australia and overseas, driven by the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

5. The future looks very bright for the pipeline industry given the predictions in demand growth for gas. As the gas supply expands and further discoveries are made, more and more pipelines will be required. Gas is one of the favoured energy sources for the short-term future as the impact of climate change is requiring cleaner sources of fuel. There will also be untapped opportunities such as pipelines for carbon capture and storage.

6. This is a great time for young people entering the pipeline industry and my advice would be to select and work for a company that is growing and who are willing to support your development in the industry.

Mark Twycross

Company: McConnell Dowell First elected: February 2001 Current term ends: 2011

1. I worked in my school holidays with various pipeline projects in Perth, and in 1975 worked with MacDow on the Maui Pipeline project in New Zealand. MacDow were in a joint venture with Saipem. From 1978 I worked with Jeff Shepherd with MacDow in Australia and overseas.

2. Health and safety of all involved in the pipeline industry is a passion for me and I am very pleased with the way that the industry keeps improving and communicating with our colleagues on the pipeline spread to have the best health and safety in the world.

3. Again, the continued improvement and health and safety. Additionally, through APIA we have developed very mature relationships with all stakeholders in our industry.

4. Obviously from my perspective the health and safety, and environment values and objectives is a key trend. The different contractual/relationship delivery methods are, in my view, a sign of the healthy Australian industry. The major coal seam gas (CSG) to LNG export pipelines will see the involvement of international contractors and this may change pipelines in Australia.

5. When the CSG to LNG projects happen the industry will be in a ‘boom’ so now is the time to recruit and train good Pipeliners.

6. Pipelines involve a different lifestyle and young people need to appreciate that it is possible to have a successful career with lots of travel, but also hard work. And of course, join the Young Pipeliners Forum.