Seeking some experience in contracts administration, Keith Horstmann began his pipeline career as an engineer for Fluor. He was assigned to the Western Australian Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline Project (DBNGP) in 1983, but his role soon changed following a project team restructure. Mr Horstmann, initially a Contracts Engineer, found himself in the role of Engineering Co-ordinator, responsible for co-ordinating the deliverables prepared by the engineering and design department to ensure they reached the right contractors on time.

“The lesson here for me was that a project team is like a moving jigsaw and you need to be prepared to quickly adapt to meet constantly changing project requirements,” says Mr Horstmann.

Pipelines – a challenging game

Following his work on the DBNGP, Mr Horstmann worked on a number of mining projects including the Weipa Kaolin Plant, Olympic Dam, Yandi Iron Ore and Brockman Iron Ore projects. He also performed some structural design work on several Bass Strait platforms. He did not return to pipeline projects until 1994 when he received his first project management assignment on the Pilbara Energy Pipeline, which he says was the most satisfying project he has worked on.

“More by good luck than good management, we finished safely, on time (by hours), and under budget,” Mr Horstmann says. “As a consequence, I mistakenly thought pipeline project management was an easy game. It was only on subsequent projects that I realised the extent of what could go wrong.”

One of these subsequent projects was the Telfer Gas Pipeline, also located in Western Australia.

“During the construction phase, the project experienced just about every challenge that can beset a pipeline job except permafrost,” Mr Horstmann says. These challenges included loose sand, rock, cyclones and flooding.

Despite this, Mr Horstmann says the Telfer Gas Pipeline was one of the most exciting projects he has worked on. He was first involved in the project as a private consultant to undertake route refinement and conceptual engineering. Following that, he was involved in leading “ultimately unsuccessful” tenders for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and gas transmission agreement (GTA) contracts. Finally, he was engaged directly by Newcrest to overview the work of the successful GTA contractor and EPC sub-contractor.

“These varying roles gave me a unique opportunity to consider the project from all perspectives,” he says.

Mr Horstmann is currently working with OSD Pipelines on a diverse portfolio of interesting pipeline projects both in Australia and overseas. These include:

• EPC management for the onshore gas pipeline component of BHP Billiton’s Macedon Development in Western Australia;
• Front-end engineering and design for Addax Petroleum’s KICE Oil Pipeline in Kurdistan;
• Definitive feasibility study for Zamin Resource’s Valentines Magnetite Pipeline and return water pipeline in Uruguay;
• Start-up of the Esperanza copper concentrate and seawater pipelines in Chile for Minera Esperanza; and,
• A large range of operations and asset services for a number of petrochemical industry operators throughout New Zealand.

From his work in the pipeline industry, the most important lesson Mr Horstmann will take away is that “there are multiple solutions for every problem, and the most valuable people you can have on your team are those that look for these solutions.”

Training for pipeliners, by pipeliners

In 2006, OSD Pipelines established a training business called PIPEd (Pipeline Industry Professional Education).

“PIPEd provides industry-specific training for pipeliners, by pipeliners,” says Mr Horstmann.

PIPEd is OSD Pipelines’ contribution to the training needs of the pipeline industry, however Mr Horstmann says, “Australia is not large enough to sustain a comprehensive training organisation that can operate without significant subsidisation from industry stakeholders.”

Business expansion

Mr Horstmann says that looking forward, OSD Pipelines intends to continue expanding its business, focusing solely on pipelines and facilities. “Our vision is to be a global service provider of choice for pipelines and facilities,” he says.

This expansion took a big step forward in late February 2011 with the successful conclusion of a merger with Brisbane-based specialist design company GWB Engineering.

“The merger reinforces the OSD detail design and drafting capability, and allows us to undertake larger projects and more extensive facilities work,” says Mr Horstmann.

“We have been working together on several projects recently and I think this will create further opportunities for OSD.”

More details of the merger can be found on page 12.

Healthy relationships are key

After being involved in the pipeline industry for over 20 years, Mr Horstmann has seen one common factor across all good pipeline projects: a healthy relationship between the owner, engineer, constructor and operator, where all parties are working to the same goals in an open, co-operative manner.

“Good relationships can transcend all physical, commercial and contractual challenges to the ultimate benefit of all participants,” Mr Horstmann says.

According to Mr Horstmann, two prominent challenges the industry is currently facing are the planning and engineering of pipelines associated with coal seam gas (CSG) developments in Queensland, and the flooding which has impacted many pipeline projects in the same region.

A shortage in human resources and materials also continues to be an on-going issue. Mr Horstmann believes that this should be addressed with patience and good planning. He also believes partnerships with foreign companies and the development of projects in series rather than parallel could be beneficial.

“If developers co-operate to stagger their projects, we can avoid creating peak resource demands that cannot be met,” Mr Horstmann says.

One step away from a new pipeline era

Mr Horstmann believes that the CSG developments in Queensland will result in a “step change” in how pipeline projects are delivered in Australia due to the sheer magnitude of the undertakings.

“The other exciting developments involve the hydrotransport systems – slurry and water pipelines – on several magnetite projects in Western Australia, with more than 1,000 km of 18–22 inch pipelines on the drawing boards at present,” he adds.