The NSW Government believes that gas – either as natural gas or coal seam gas (CSG) – is a key energy resource into the foreseeable future, and that its industry will flourish under any future national carbon pricing arrangements.

“The NSW Government considers that natural gas and CSG have the potential to be both an interim fuel source as well as an ongoing low carbon energy source for the future,” said a spokesperson from the NSW Division of Resources and Energy (DRE).

Despite its lack of indigenous commercial gas fields, NSW has 3,250 km of gas transmission pipelines licensed under the NSW Pipelines Act 1967 (this figure does not include the Eastern Gas Pipeline in Victoria and the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline in South Australia/Queensland).

Constructed and commissioned in 1976, the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline System spans 2,030 km in length, with diameters ranging from 100–850 mm and steel grades of API 5L Grade X42, API 5L Grade X46, API 5L Grade X65, and API 5L Grade X70.

The pipeline has compressor stations located at Bulla Park and Young, and a number of laterals, including:

• The 240 km, 300 mm diameter Northern Lateral, from Young to Orange and Lithgow;
• The 131 km, 300 mm diameter Southern Lateral, from Young to Wagga Wagga;
• The 180 km, 150 mm diameter Griffith Lateral, from Junee to Griffith;
• The 88 km, 450 mm diameter Wagga Wagga to Culcairn lateral; and,
• The 52 km, 250 mm diameter Dalton to Canberra lateral.

Owner and operator APA Group is currently undertaking a five-year program to increase the pipeline’s winter capacity by 20 per cent. The pipeline will be divided into sections for pigging, then rehabilitation of the pipeline will be performed where necessary to allow the pipeline to operate at its maximum allowable operating pressure.

When Origin Energy proposed to develop the Uranquinty Power Station in 2005, APA suggested a gas transport and storage agreement in order to supply the station from existing gas infrastructure instead of a new development. Origin later requested additional storage capacity to allow the plant to operate for longer when required, leading to the creation of the two-stage Young to Wagga Wagga Pipeline Looping project. WDS Limited completed the first stage in 2010, constructing a 61km, 457mm diameter pipeline which duplicated existing pipeline between Bomen and Bethungra. Easement restoration is now underway.

The second stage will involve looping of the section between Bethungra and Young. The NSW Department of Planning Director General has issued requirements for the proposal development and an environmental assessment of the proposed route has commenced.

APA’s 255 km Central West Pipeline, which was completed in 1999, links the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline System with regional centres in NSW including Forbes, Parkes, Narromine and Dubbo.

From Marsden to Alectown West, the pipeline has a diameter of 219.1 mm, wall thickness of 5 mm and 6.4 mm, and is constructed with API 5L Grade X65 steel pipe. From Alectown West to Dubbo, the pipeline has a steel grade of API 5L Grade X52, with a diameter of 168.3 mm and wall thickness of 6.4 mm and 4.8 mm.

Connecting to the Central West Pipeline is the APA Group owned and operated Central Ranges Gas Pipeline, which runs 294 km from Dubbo to the Central Ranges region in NSW, crossing the Gunnedah Basin and interconnecting with the Central West Pipeline. The pipeline, which has two diameters of 150 mm and 200 mm and a steel grade of 5L X52, was commissioned in August 2006.

In 2000, Jemena’s 797 km, 450 mm diameter Eastern Gas Pipeline was completed and commissioned. The pipeline’s API 5L X70 and X65 grade steel is coated with fusion-bonded epoxy (FBE) and it has two compressor stations at Longford, Victoria, and Mila, NSW.

Originally designed with a capacity of 65 PJ/a, the pipeline is now able to transport up to 98 PJ/a of natural gas from the Gippsland Basin in Victoria to markets in Sydney and regional centres. Jemena intends to further increase this capacity to 121 PJ/a through the addition of two new midline compressor stations and with the possibility of looping.

The pipeline was last pigged in 2006 and is due to be pigged again this year.

Jemena owns a lateral which extends from the Sydney to Newcastle Pipeline to Delta Electricity’s Colongra gas generation plant. 8.9 km of the 12.9 km Colongra Lateral has a 1,050 mm diameter, a wall thickness of 24 and 30 mm and is constructed from API 5L X70 grade steel. The remaining 4 km has a 250 mm diameter, 12.7 mm wall thickness and a X42 steel grade. Both sections are coated with dual layer FBE.

The pipeline has one compressor station at Bushells Ridge and completed construction in 2009.

NSW also has ethane and liquids pipelines. Running parallel to the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline System is the 1,218 km Moomba to Sydney Ethane Pipeline, which was completed in 1997. This pipeline transports ethane from gas fields in Cooper Basin, South Australia, to a plant at Botany, Sydney.

Caltex owns the 211 km, 350 mm diameter Sydney to Newcastle Liquids Pipeline, which transports liquids from the Caltex Wharf at Kurnell to the Silverwater and Newcastle terminals. The pipeline has a 6.5 mm wall thickness, a yellow jacket coating and is constructed from X42 to X48 steel. It has a capacity of 17.6 MML and is pigged every seven to ten years with the next pigging scheduled for 2017.

Connecting to the existing Moomba to Sydney Gas Pipeline is the proposed Young to Wellington Pipeline, a 220 km, 508 mm diameter natural gas pipeline which will connect the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline and the proposed Wellington gas-fired power station to be located in central western NSW.

The pipeline, which will be buried at a depth of 750 mm and have a maximum operating pressure of 15.4 MPa, received approval from the NSW Planning Assessment Commission in March this year.

Proponent ERM Power said a final investment decision on the construction of the Wellington Power Station, including the Young to Wellington Pipeline, is expected in 2012. Construction would take about two years from the final decision.

APA Group has also previously considered another pipeline, which would connect into the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline – the Newstead to Bulla Park Pipeline. This proposed 645 km pipeline would connect the Wallumbilla gas hub in Queensland with the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline at Bulla Park. Approximately 350 km of the pipeline is set to be located in NSW.

In April this year, APA completed preliminary environmental assessments and lodged the pipeline for major project status with the NSW Government.

The company has said that as further gas resources are discovered in southern Queensland, a proportion of NSW’s future gas supply is expected to be sourced from there. The pipeline will ensure that gas infrastructure is in place in time for the increased demand for gas use by industry and power generation as Australia moves toward a cleaner energy economy.

Coal seam gas pipelines

According to the State of the Energy Market Report 2010 released by the Australian Energy Regulator, NSW contains approximately 2,466 PJ of proved and probable CSG reserves, which make up 24.5 per cent of Australia’s total gas reserves.

“Development of the CSG industry will assist NSW in reducing greenhouse emissions, as CO₂ emissions from gas are about half that of coal,” said the NSW DRE spokesperson. “It will provide steady supply and reduce the impact of the rising cost of power generation and electricity.”

Pipeline projects proposed or currently under construction to transport CSG in NSW include:

• The Liddell Pipeline;
• The Narrabri to Wellington Pipeline;
• The Lions Way Pipeline;
• The Queensland Hunter Gas Pipeline;
• The Hunter Gas Pipeline;
• The Stratford to Hexham Pipeline; and,
• The LNG Newcastle Project.

For more details on these projects, click here for a review of Australia’s CSG pipeline developments.

The NSW Government has said that it will be taking a “triple bottom line approach” to considering development projects such as pipeline infrastructure related to CSG development. Specifically, the Government intends to implement reforms to the planning assessment process, as well as mining and CSG legislation to protect strategic agricultural lands and associated water resources. For more details about these reforms, click here.

Water pipelines

In addition to its gas transmission pipelines, NSW also contains a substantial number of water pipelines to help secure against future water needs.

A preferred corridor has been identified for Orange City Council’s proposed 37 km Orange Drought Relief Connection, and more detailed modelling and investigation currently underway.

The majority of the pipe is likely to be 375 mm in diameter with approximately 2 km anticipated as being 450 mm. Although the construction contractor has not yet been let, minor contracts relating to survey works and environmental consultancies have been awarded. The project is expected to reach completion in 2013.

The 12 km, 1 m diameter Murrumbidgee to Googong Pipeline has reached construction phase, with pipe delivery having commenced in mid-May and clearing and fencing of the construction corridor in progress.

ACTEW, in partnership with ActewAGL, has formed the Bulk Water Alliance with GHD, John Holland and Abigroup for the design and construction of the pipeline, while subcontracting pipeline installation to Redline Contracting.

The pipeline will be constructed from a combination of mild steel cement-lined and ductile iron cement-lined pipe (DICL) and is expected to reach completion in June 2012.

Hunter Water Australia has recently completed a feasibility study for Tamworth Regional Council’s proposed 27 km, 200mm diameter Barraba to Split Rock Dam Pipeline. The pipeline will have a capacity of approximately 3 ML/d and will be constructed with DICL PN35 and PVC-O PN20 pipe, depending on pressures.

Cowra Shire Council has completed 97 per cent of the Cowra to Woodstock Reservoir section of its 33.85 km, 225mm diameter Cowra Emergency Water Supply Pipeline. The emergency water supply pipeline, which will connect Cowra to the Central Tablelands Water System, is expected to have a capacity of 3.5 ML/d and will be constructed from DICL PN35 MPa and PVC M PN 20 MPa pipe.

Pipelay and backfill is being performed by the Council using a trenching machine hired from Toowoomba Trenching and Earthmoving. The project is scheduled for completion this month.

At the time of writing, construction was continuing on Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s Highlands Source Project, an 81km pipeline with a diameter of up to 375 mm and a capacity of 5 ML/d. Trenching and pipelay began in March this year with construction awarded to Leed Engineering and Construction. The pipeline will transport water from the Wingecarribee Reservoir near Moss Vale to the Goulburn water supply system at the Rossi Weir rising main, which feeds the Goulburn Water Treatment Plant. The planned completion date for the project was 30 June 2011.

All designs for Lachlan Shire Council’s Merri Abba to Lake Cargelligo Pipeline have been completed and tenders for its construction are now closed. The project involves a 31.8 km pipeline running from Merri Abba to the drought-affected town of Lake Cargelligo.

The pipeline will have diameters of 225 mm and 300 mm, a design capacity of 2.2 GL/a and be constructed from PVC-O or PVC-M pipe. Its route crosses roads in two places, and the Council has said it will consider using trenchless technology for these crossings.

A construction contractor has not yet been appointed. The project is planned to be completed by 31 March 2012.

Mitchell Water has also recently completed construction on Bega Valley Shire’s Bega to Yellow Pinch Dam Pipeline. For more details on this project, click here.