An ever increasing focus on sustainability and energy security has meant proponents are turning to gas-fired power stations, with requirements for associated infrastructure such as pipelines.

The construction of water pipelines continues to gather pace for greater security, with major desalination plants announced for Victoria, and progressing steadily in South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales.

LNG developments are fuelling numerous pipeline proposals to bring gas to the processing centres before it is liquefied and sent north to meet the increasing energy needs of Australia’s Asian neighbours.

The rise and rise of LNG

Major milestones have been achieved throughout the year on several high profile LNG projects including the massive Gorgon LNG Development, which has seen revisions to expand the project.

The revised proposal adds a third 5 MMt/a LNG train to the original two train proposal already approved for Barrow Island. The project is based on the installation of a subsea gathering system and a pipeline from the gas fields to a plant to be constructed on Barrow Island. A pipeline will also take gas from Barrow Island to the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP) for domestic consumption.

A final investment decision was made in September, paving the way for works to continue to ramp up. The Greater Gorgon gas fields are located approximately 130 km off the northwest coast of Western Australia and are expected to contain approximately 40 Tcf of gas.

Chevron has also awarded the onshore front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for domestic export and gas plant facilities to Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals for its Wheatstone LNG Development, to be located in Ashburton North, Western Australia. The project’s first phase includes two LNG processing trains each with a capacity of 4.3 MMt/a, and a 250 MMcf/d domestic gas plant.

The field is situated off the Pilbara coast in northwest Western Australia, and gas will be delivered through a 220 km pipelines to the existing domestic gas network. A second pipeline from the LNG plant is planned to run out beyond the depth required for stabilisation and will be laid to allow future tie-ins from other fields. Production is expected to commence in 2015.

Meanwhile, Woodside Petroleum’s Pluto Gas Project continues to progress steadily, with the company estimating it could build up to five LNG trains on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.

The $12 billion project will process gas from the Pluto and Xena gas fields, located in the offshore Carnarvon Basin and includes the laying of a 180 km subsea pipeline connecting the gas fields to an onshore processing facility at Karratha.

Woodside’s Browse LNG Project, involves offshore facilities and two LNG trains, each with a capacity of 7 MMt/a to process gas from the Brecknock, Brecknock South and Tarosa fields, located approximately 400 km north-northwest of Broome. Woodside has signed an Option to Lease Agreement with the Broome Port Authority for up to 15 hectares of land at the Broome Port to service and support the project. Gas will be brought to shore via a 450 km pipeline.

The company has reiterated that the Kimberley LNG Hub, located at James Price Point, is its preferred site to build an LNG processing plant to process gas from its Browse Basin gas fields.

Karoon Gas Australia and joint venture partner ConocoPhillips plan to appraise the Poseidon discovery later this year or early next year, as the partners continue with a drilling program at their blocks, located 490 km offshore Western Australia.

The project would include the construction of a 1,000 km natural gas pipeline running through the Timor Sea to connect the blocks to an onshore LNG plant.

Inpex and joint venture partner Total E&P confirmed this year that Darwin would be the location of its Ichthys Gas Project LNG facility and awarded a FEED contract to AMEC Engineering for its offshore facilities, including the export pipeline, risers and flowlines.

Inpex has also said that it will be able to provide the Northern Territory’s Power and Water Corporation access to gas supplies for emergency electricity generation, but maintained that the gas will be exported overseas.

The project will see an 850 km subsea pipeline built between the Ichthys Gas Field, located in the Browse Basin, approximately 440 km offshore northwest Australia and the proposed plant on the Middle Arm Peninsula in the Northern Territory. First LNG is scheduled for late 2014–2015.

In September, the Liquid Niugini Gas LNG Project joint venture partners submitted a project agreement to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government for the construction of a proposed LNG plant in Port Moresby.

The proposed project targets a $5.8 billion two train LNG facility, with each train capable of producing approximately 4 MMt/a of LNG. The project also includes a 358 km, 36 inch feed gas pipeline to be built from the InterOil Elk gas field to the plant to transport gas to the facility.

Meanwhile, bids for major supply contracts are being submitted for the PNG LNG Project. The project involves an integrated development of the Hides, Angore and Juha gas fields as well as associated gas from the Kutubu, Agogo, Gobe and Moran oil fields. The gas will be transported to the LNG plant near Port Moresby through more than 700 km of large diameter pipeline. The first LNG cargo is expected to be shipped in early 2014. An FID is expected towards the end of the year.

Queensland LNG spurs pipelines

LNG projects using CSG as feedstock proposed for Queensland continue to gather momentum, with Premier Anna Bligh predicting up to 18,000 jobs will be created over the next ten years.

BG Group/QGC plan to develop their $8 billion, 3–4 MMt/a Queensland Curtis LNG Project (QCLNG) facility at Gladstone, including a 380 km pipeline from their Surat Basin tenements to a port site. In May, BG signed an agreement with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), stipulating that CNOOC will purchase 3.6 MMt/a of LNG for a period of 20 years from the start up of QCLNG.

FEED work is near completion for Origin Energy and ConocoPhillips’s Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) Project, which will involve four LNG trains, with progress towards FID at the end of 2010. Gas sales will be sought over the next six to nine months.

The Queensland Government declared the Arrow CSG to LNG Project, to be located at Gladstone, a significant project, following the submission of its Initial Advice Statement. The proposed LNG facility would be built on a site capable of producing LNG from CSG acreage jointly owned by Shell and Arrow.

In September, Arrow Energy began seeking expressions of interest for the construction of its 520 km Surat to Gladstone Pipeline, which will connect Arrow’s Surat Basin CSG tenements to Gladstone.

FEED work has also been completed for LNG Ltd’s Gladstone ‘Fisherman’s Landing’ LNG Project. Negotiation of the engineering, procurement and construction contract has commenced with SK Engineering & Construction and Laing O’Rourke, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Fyfe was awarded an initial survey and route engineering contract for Santos’ 450 km Gladstone LNG (GLNG) Pipeline in August. The pipeline is to transport gas from Santos’ Fairview CSG Field located near Roma, to the proposed GLNG liquefaction plant, to be located at Curtis Island, Gladstone.

Santos then announced dual upstream FEED contracts for Fluor and Foster Wheeler, which was more than 50 per cent complete at the time of writing. An FID is expected in the first half of 2010.

More offshore projects

Offshore projects continue to face challenges in 2009, with construction on a 17 km offshore pipeline for Nexus Energy’s Longtom Gas Field Development, located offshore Victoria, interrupted due to the demobilisation of a diving support vessel, following contractual disputes mid-year.

In August, Nexus awarded a contract for a subsea installation to newly formed joint venture partners TSMarine and DOF Subsea, and secured a diving support and installation vessel from Singapore to complete the offshore installation work. Work was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year.

The Longtom field will be tied into the existing Patricia-Baleen Development.

In addition, the development of Santos’ Henry Gas Field, located in the Otway Basin, offshore Victoria, has experienced delays, awaiting a pipelay vessel to lay the 12 inch diameter, 17 km subsea pipeline that will connect the field to the existing Casino Gas Field facilities.

The route for a 95 km gas pipeline to be built for the Basker Manta Gummy (BMG) Gas Project, located offshore Victoria, was selected in June, and is waiting on government and joint venture approvals. ROC is looking to secure low cost installation vessels for the hook-up of gas facilities in the field.

Gas production from Eni’s Blacktip Gas Field Development, located in the southern Bonaparte Basin, approximately 110 km off the coast of Northern Territory began in September. The Blacktip Gas Field will bring gas onshore via a 110 km offshore pipeline to supply Northern Territory’s Power and Water Corporation for 25 years.

Gas will be piped to a gas processing facility plant at Wadeye and then transported to the existing Amadeus Basin to Darwin Pipeline via APA Group’s 280 km Bonaparte Gas Pipeline.

Construction commenced at the Devil Creek Gas Project, located in Western Australia, in mid-September. The project will be supplied with gas from the offshore Reindeer Gas Field via a 105 km offshore pipeline. An onshore gas sales pipeline will link to the shore crossing and tie-in to the DBNGP. First gas remains on track for the second half of 2011. Expansions galore

Construction on Dampier Bunbury Pipeline’s (DBP) DBNGP Stage 5B Expansion, being undertaken by McConnell Dowell, was approximately 65 per cent complete at the time of writing.

The expansion is scheduled to be completed by April 2010 and includes 440 km of looping.

In August, construction to expand the capacity on APA Group’s 1,380 km Goldfields Gas Pipeline, which runs from the Pilbara coast to the Goldfields region in Western Australia, by 20 per cent was completed, with two compressor stations built at Wyloo West and Ned’s Creek.

In Queensland, construction is nearly complete on Jemena’s expansion of the Queensland Gas Pipeline, which runs from Wallumbilla to Gladstone. The expansion also includes the installation of 113 km of pipeline running parallel to the original, creating a loop. Construction of the pipeline is being undertaken by AJ Lucas. Compressor stations in Banana and Rolleston also form part of the expansion.

APA Group recently completed expansions of the Goldfields Gas Pipeline, in Western Australia, and its Carpentaria Gas Pipeline, in Queensland. The expansions involved the construction of 4.5 MW compressor stations. Two compressor stations were installed on the Goldfields Gas Pipeline at Wyloo West and Ned’s Creek, and one compressor station was installed at Davenport Downs on the Carpentaria pipeline. Development opportunities continue for APA’s northern expansion of the Victorian Transmission System, along with the potential for the expansion of the Roma to Brisbane Pipeline APA is also progressing opportunities evolving from Queensland’s CSG/LNG projects.

Bursting at the seams

CSG projects continue to develop across Australia, and pipeline projects have been proposed in response to the increasing demand to secure the east coast’s electricity supply.

At the start of the year, WDS Ltd commissioned Arrow Energy and ERM Power’s 105 km Braemar 2 Pipeline. The pipeline runs from Arrow Energy’s CSG fields to the new 450 MW Braemar 2 Power Station.

WDS Ltd also completed construction on AGL Energy’s Berwyndale to Wallumbilla Pipeline. The 400 mm diameter, 115 km pipeline runs from a point approximately 8.5 km east of the township of Miles adjacent to the Condamine Power Station, to the Wallumbilla Gas Hub. The pipeline links QGC’s gas fields with Wallumbilla, providing increased capacity for the transport of QGC gas into western Queensland and ultimately the southern states.

Nacap Australia completed construction of Origin Energy’s Wallumbilla to Darling Downs Pipeline earlier this year. The pipeline project involved 205 km of 450 mm diameter gas pipeline to transport gas from the Wallumbilla Gas Hub via the new Talinga CSG production facilities into Origin’s Darling Downs Power Station, located in Queensland.

Also constructed by Nacap, commercial gas flows commenced through Epic Energy’s Queensland to South Australia/New South Wales Link (QSN Link) Pipeline.

The QSN Link joins the South West Queensland Pipeline (SWQP) at Ballera, connects to the Moomba to Adelaide Pipeline, and provides a delivery point into the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline. The construction of the QSN Link was undertaken with an aim to facilitate the supply of long term, competitively priced CSG to southern markets.

The Stage 3 expansion of the SWQP (also known as QSN3) involves the construction of a new 935 km, 450 mm diameter pipeline adjacent to the existing SWQP including the QSN Link. At this stage, construction is expected to commence in June 2010 and continue through to the end of 2011. Nacap has been announced as the construction contractor.

Bow Energy announced in July it is investigating the feasibility of constructing an approximately 50 km pipeline to run from the Blackwater CSG Field to a point along Arrow Energy and AGL Energy’s proposed Central Queensland Gas Pipeline. Bow is also looking into the development of a 140 km pipeline joining the Blackwater field to the existing Queensland Gas Pipeline at Moura.

All environmental studies required for the 145 km Lions Way Pipeline were completed in August, which starts in Casino in New South Wales and heads north to Ipswich in Queensland, supplying gas to Metgasco’s Clarence Moreton Basin partner, CS Energy.

A replacement pipeline survey licence was issued to allow for the continuation of route identification and environmental work in Queensland following the expiration of the previous licence.

ERM is investigating the feasibility of building an interstate gas pipeline between Queensland and New South Wales. The proposed $500 million project would transport and store gas along 900 km of pipeline and increase competition between gas suppliers in New South Wales.

The pipeline would run between Wambo, South East Queensland, and Wellington in New South Wales’ northeast, and consist of four sections to be developed in stages. The interstate pipeline would allow transportation of gas from prospective CSG fields in Queensland, which would secure gas-fired electricity generation in New South Wales and create significant greenhouse abatement.

ERM will develop a power station at Wellington, which is expected to come online in 2011–12. From Wellington the pipeline will continue on to Young, where it will connect into the Moomba to Sydney Gas Pipeline at the Young compressor station.

Pipelines for power stations

The New South Wales Government has approved the 500 mm diameter, 25 km east-west component of Macquarie Generation’s proposed Liddell Gas Pipeline, to be located north of Sydney. The east-west component will extend west of the Liddell Power Station toward the Mt Arthur Coal Mine and south-eastwards near Ravensworth, transporting waste methane obtained from Hunter Valley coal mines to the power station for use as a supplementary fuel for electricity generation. The company is currently waiting on approval for the north-south component, consisting of a 500 mm diameter, 51 km pipeline.

The two separate pipelines will carry pre-mine and post-mine drainage, and there will be provision for looping.

Construction of Origin Energy’s 83 km Mortlake Pipeline, located in southwest Victoria, was almost complete at the time of writing. The 500 mm diameter pipeline was constructed by AJ Lucas, with a transmission pressure of 15 MPa and will link the Mortlake Power Station to the Otway gas processing plant near Port Campbell. The $35 million pipeline has been constructed in a 25 m wide easement, and 150 workers have been employed over the duration of the project.

Santos will make an FID regarding its 500 MW gas-fired Shaw River Power Station, to be located near Orford in Victoria, by the end of the year, enabling power generation by 2012. The plans also involve the construction of a 105 km underground gas pipeline from Port Campbell to the power station, using gas from the Otway and Gippsland basins. At the time of writing, expressions of interest for pipeline construction had been completed. Water pipelines everywhere

In Victoria, the AquaSure Consortium, consisting of Thiess, Suez Environement, Degrémont and Macquarie Capital Group, were awarded a contract to construct the Victorian Desalination Plant in August.

The project includes construction and operation of the 150 billion litre plant to be located at Wonthaggi, a 72 inch diameter, 82 km transfer pipeline to connect to Melbourne’s existing water network. Construction is due to start in October with first water from the plant due to be supplied at the end of 2011. Nacap has been awarded the contract for the construction of the transfer pipeline.

Tunnelling and pipelaying work for Adelaide’s 11.5 km Port Stanvac Desalination Pipeline, which will deliver desalinated water from Port Stanvac to the Happy Valley water treatment storage area, commenced in mid-2009.

The majority of construction activities will be completed by the year’s end. A joint venture between McConnell Dowell and Built Environs is constructing the pipeline.

In Sydney, McConnell Dowell is working as part of the Water Delivery Alliance on the 18 km, 250 ML/d pipeline that will transport water from the new desalination plant to Sydney’s established water grid. The pipeline includes 7.1 km of twin 1,400 mm pipeline that runs across Botany Bay, 6.4 km via microtunelling and 4.5 km via traditional open cut installation. The project will be operational for the coming summer.

In June, the Western Australian Government signed contracts to build the Binningup Southern SeaWater desalination plant . The companies making up the Southern Seawater Alliance are Tecnicas Reunidas and Valoriza Agua, in cooperation with local companies AJ Lucas and WorleyParsons.

The project includes construction of a 30 km water pipeline, which will run between Binningup and Harvey, linking the plant to the Integrated Water Supply Scheme.

The 70 km Sugarloaf Pipeline is several months ahead of schedule with the last of around 5,500 pipes laid in the Yarra Glen area, Victoria.

Water will begin flowing to Melbourne following completion of two pumping stations near Yea, a power sub station, reservoir chute and extensive testing of the pipe. The pipeline runs from the Goulburn River near Yea to the Sugarloaf Reservoir in Melbourne’s northeast.

Site works have begun at Taylors Lake, located in western Victoria, in preparation for the construction of a pump station on GWMWater’s Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project (WMPP). Pressure testing continues to proceed in Supply System4, and a temporary connection at Taylors Lake is currently filling Supply System 6 pipes to enable the network’s progressive pressure testing.

Pipelaying is yet to be completed in the area east of Charlton, south of Rupanyup to Glenorchy, and in Supply System 6, south of Horsham. To date, approximately 7,790 km of pipeline has been laid since November 2006. The project involves an 8,800 km pipeline network, which will replace around 18,000 km of open irrigation channels covering an area of around 2.5 million hectares. The project is on target for completion in the first quarter of 2010.

Construction of the 52 km Hamilton– Grampians Pipeline, located near Cavendish, Victoria commenced mid-year. The 375 mm diameter pipeline will transfer up to 2 billion litres each year from Rocklands Reservoir in the Grampians to Hamilton’s water supply system. Water is expected to flow to Hamilton by early 2010.

In New South Wales, four companies were shortlisted to construct the Gosford and Wyong city councils’ Mardi-Mangrove Link Project in August. Sixteen companies made submissions via an Expressions of Interest process for the water pipeline, and the four shortlisted are Bovis Lend Lease, Jemena, John Holland and McConnell Dowell. The construction contract is expected to be awarded before the end of 2009.

The 1,100 mm diameter, 19 km pipeline will run from Mardi Dam to Bungaree Creek Dam.

In July, the Goulburn Mulwaree Shire Council engaged GHD to manage the design and construction of its Highland Source Project, which includes an 83 km, 300 mm diameter pipeline linking Goulburn to Sydney’s water catchment. The construction of the pipeline from Wingecarribee Reservoir to Goulburn will occur in two stages and should take two years to complete.

In Queensland, the $50 million Rockhampton to Yeppoon water pipeline project reached a milestone with the laying of the final contracted pipe work that connects the Rockhampton and Yeppoon water supply service. The pipeline consists of a 34 km pipeline of 600 mm diameter and a 12 km pipeline of 750 mm diameter. While a few kilometres of the 34 km pipeline remain to be laid, this will be completed in house by the Rockhampton Regional Council. Pipelaying was conducted by the Rockhampton Regional Council and Bailey Civil Contractors.

SunWater said that works on the proposed Connors River Dam and associated water pipelines, located approximately 100 km east of Moranbah, could start as early as 2011. The dam and pipeline project has been identified within the Central Queensland Regional Water Supply Strategy as the preferred medium to long-term water supply solution to meet future water demands in the Bowen Basin region. Approximately 130 km of large diameter pipeline will carry around 45,000 ML/a of water to the Bowen Basin.

In addition, SunWater received delivery of 450 mm diameter pipes for the 38 km Cloncurry Pipeline, which will interconnect with SunWater’s existing North West Queensland Pipeline to deliver up to 1,500 ML of water, which began construction in July. Moody Civil and Pipe was awarded an early contractor involvement contract for the project’s construction.

The Toowomba Pipeline Project commenced in April this year. The Toowoomba Pipeline Alliance partners Clough, WDS Ltd and Maunsell AECOM had almost completed works at the time of writing. Located in Esk Shire Queensland, the project involves the design and construction of a 38 km pipeline and a pump station with an initial capacity to deliver, 200 ML/a of water from Wivenhoe Dam to Toowoomba’s Cressbrok Dam. Construction on the pipeline commenced in April and is expected to be complete by January 2010.

Coal pipeline for NZ

Pike River Coal constructed a 10 km dual pipeline that will transport coal slurry from the Pike River Coal Mine, located 46 km east of Greymouth in New Zealand, to its nearby coal preparation plant, and return treated water back to the mine. The 11 inch diameter, high wear slurry pipeline will have a total capacity of approximately 3.75 MMt/a of slurry, including 1.5 MMt/a of raw coal.

Because of the abrasive nature of the slurry, the pipeline is being built mostly above ground to allow for easy maintenance and repair. The pipeline is expected to last approximately 15 years, during which time it will be gradually rotated to reduce wear. The pipeline was constructed by Ferguson Bros, and the $6 million pipeline was completed in June. Mining industry influence

The proposed Gladstone Nickel and Slurry Pipeline involves the potential construction of a 175 km ore slurry pipeline from a proposed nickel and cobalt laterite mine at Marlborough to a high pressure acid leach plant in Gladstone, Central Queensland.

The pipeline will be constructed as part of an expansion of the initially proposed plant. EIS approval through the Co-ordinator General was received in January 2009, followed by Federal Government approval in March 2009. Funding of the main project is yet to be finalised.

Near Cape Preston, in Western Australia, CITIC Pacific Mining is building a 14 km, 450 mm gas pipeline to supply a power station at its Sino Iron Ore Project. Being constructed by KT Pipelines, the pipeline is expected to be commissioned in January 2010. A further 28 km, 150 mm pipeline will be built at a future stage for its pellet plant.

Asia Iron Holdings, a subsidiary of Mt Gibson Iron, plans to start construction on a slurry pipeline that will run from the Mt Gibson Ranges to Geraldton, located in Western Australia. The pipeline is to be approximately 278 km long with a diameter of 500 mm. The pipeline will have the capacity to hold 10 MMt of dry concentrate. Nacap has been contracted to construct the pipeline.

Also in Western Australia, a 110 km slurry pipeline has been proposed to transport iron ore from Aurox Resources’ Balla Balla mine site to Port Hedland. The pipeline, engineered by Slurry Systems Engineering, will be 457 mm in outer diameter for the transport of 10 MMt/a of magnetite concentrate. Construction of the pipeline is expected to take approximately five months, and will begin construction in the winter months to correspond with the dry season in the Pilbara.

Construction of a 134 km slurry pipeline for the Ramu nickel/cobalt project in PNG was completed this year. The 600 mm diameter slurry pipeline will run from a plant at Kurumbukari to a refinery at Basamuk via pumping stations at Usino Junction and near Ato.

The project is scheduled to commence commissioning by the end of 2009. The project is managed by China Metallurgical Construction Group Corporation (MCC) and includes joint venture partners Jinchuan Group, Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Corporation, Jiuquan Iron and Steel Group and Highlands Pacific.

Politics in the pipeline

Further development of Australia’s LNG industry will be one of the “top priorities” in the context of energy security, climate change and economic recovery, according to Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson. In a speech to the Queensland Resources Council, Mr Ferguson said that the demand for gas will be most evident in a carbon-constrained economy, and Australia is quickly becoming recognised as an “emerging energy superpower”.

Mr Ferguson also said that the CSG industry has developed rapidly over the past five years, and now supplies approximately 85 per cent of Queensland’s natural gas market.

Mr Ferguson added that while the importance of renewable energy resources will increase, gas is expected to produce the bulk of Australia’s electricity needs, with $2.4 billion set aside to accelerate low emissions technologies, including $2 billion in industrial-scale projects under the Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships program.

WA funding for pipelines

The Western Australian Government has allocated over $30 million to pipeline infrastructure in its 2009 budget.

The State Government will contribute $20 million for the purchase of land necessary for the South West Gas Pipeline funded through the Royalties for Regions Fund.

The proposed pipeline will run from Bunbury to Albany and will measure 200 mm in diameter. It is expected to carry around 50–100 TJ/d of gas, providing a lower cost alternative to bottled LPG used by many customers in the state’s southwest.

ETS, RET and CCS

Throughout 2009 discussion has continued on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the Renewable Energy Target (RET) and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). All three have the potential to impact significantly on the pipeline industry.

Both the ETS and RET have been in a constant state of evolution throughout the year with government proposals, opposition counter proposals and wide-ranging comments from all sectors. While the RET passed through parliament in August, mandating 20 per cent of Australia’s energy is sourced from renewable energy by 2020, the final passage of the ETS remained uncertain.

The gas industry was active throughout the year in relation to the ETS and RET, pointing out the potential market distortions that the RET could have on the ETS which could shift energy producers away from the use of natural gas.

At the time of debate on the RET, APIA Chief Executive Cheryl Cartwright said “The RET legislation is an opportunity for the Government and Opposition to demonstrate a commitment to the natural gas industry by including encouragement for gas-fired power generation as a back-up fuel for intermittent energy from renewable sources.”

Meanwhile, CCS – which APIA and those within the pipeline industry point out is missing the T (for Transport of carbon dioxide after capture to where it will be stored) – could provide for an unprecedented boom in the pipeline industry.

With much of Australia’s generation assets located long distances from potential storage sites, pipelines would have a vital role in moving carbon dioxide to these storage sites. While carbon dioxide pipelines have been in use, especially in the USA, for some time, impurities in carbon dioxide from generation create additional complexities, the industry is already working to overcome those issues.

The full impacts of carbon dioxide pipelines on the industry will not be known for some years but the initial outlook is very bright.

Landmark Energy Pipelines CRC The Energy Pipelines Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) – Australia’s first dedicated research centre to ensuring the continued safe and cost effective operation of the nation’s gas pipeline network and provide the foundation for the next generation of pipelines – has been approved by the Federal Government.

The announcement by Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Kim Carr has been welcomed by APIA, which described it as a great vote of confidence in the essential role that gas pipelines play in the Australian economy and a ‘vital’ first step towards a new era of low emission power generation.

“This is a key step towards a new era of energy efficiency and responsibility – both in supporting the shift towards natural gas in the medium term, and in the longer-term development of a globally significant CCS industry,” Ms Cartwright said.

The $17.5 million research centre will initially focus on four areas of pipeline development, covering construction and maintenance, corrosion control, and public safety.

Looking ahead

Despite the global economic downturn, the future of the Australian pipeline industry looks extremely healthy, with a number of projects progressing or proposed for future development. Most major pipeline contractors are continuing to be active in the construction phase of projects nationwide.

In particular, Queensland and New South Wales pipeline developments are set to benefit greatly from the number of significant LNG and CSG projects on the table.

Water security and climate change remain at the front and centre of the nation’s sustainability debate, and pipelines will be needed to ensure adequate water supplies from major desalination projects in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia reach homes and businesses in the cities.

Funding continues to grow for research into the feasibility of CCS, with Australia taking the lead on an international level, as well as the establishment of the Energy Pipelines CRC.

Also, the Federal Government’s prediction for Australia’s capacity to rise as an ‘energy superpower’ continues to gain momentum, in granting approval for large deals such as the Gorgon LNG Development, which will pave the way for the pipeline industry to benefit.