Sponsored by Rosen and Energy Solutions International, a strong turnout of approximately 70 attended the Pipeline Operators Group (POG) Seminar on 15 April 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Auckland. The location provided a great opportunity for New Zealand and Australian industry members to meet up and discuss the latest issues in pipeline operation.

Following a welcome from APIA Business Manager Steve Dobbie, New Zealand Refining Company’s Peter Owbridge delivered a presentation on managing threats to high pressure pipelines. He spoke of the issues that the New Zealand Refining Company has had with the population encroaching onto the easement of the company’s pipeline, and outlined steps taken to work with local councils in mitigating such encroachment.

Mr Owbridge was followed by APA Group’s Shane Matthews, who spoke about the in-line inspection of the Dandenong – West Melbourne Inner Ring Mainline. Mr Matthews said that pigging a pipeline in a built-up area posed challenges, particularly in relation to the number of stakeholders that need to be notified. He said that the pigging of the inner ring main took two years to organise with local councils and residents in the area.

Also from APA, Peter Benham spoke about the challenges of operating the Roma to Brisbane Pipeline in a growing South East Queensland environment. He also discussed the challenges of operating an ageing pipeline with new equipment, such as compressor stations, cathodic protection and SCADA.

Following morning tea, Peter Tuft of Peter Tuft & Associates provided an update on the POG Incident Database. Mr Tuft discussed the data on both Australian and New Zealand pipelines currently in the database and outlined key areas where the mitigation of risk to pipelines needs to be improved.

Vector Gas’ Barry Parsons provided a presentation on addressing unauthorised third-party activity on Vector’s gas transmission pipelines, while Tas Gas Networks’ Andrew Bambridge spoke about protecting a section of the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline while a large transport facility was built nearby.

After lunch, Liz Brierley from SEAGas outlined how the company is managing changes in land use around the SEA Gas Pipeline. Ms Brierley explained that, when first constructed, the pipeline was built to specifications as per the then Adelaide city development plan. This plan has since changed, and involves much development around areas in which the pipeline operates.

WAG Pipeline’s Colin Symonds addressed the seminar on the assessment and repair of an original construction defect on the WAG Oil Pipeline. Mr Symonds detailed the repair program and how this was managed in an urban area.

Florin Dumitu, also from SEAGas, spoke about the cyber security threats to SCADA systems. Mr Dumitu outlined that there are an increasing number of hackers around the world, hence it is important to have the right security systems in place for pipeline information software.

After a short break for afternoon tea, Jemena’s Phil Colvin spoke about the challenges of operating a cyclic pipeline such as the Colongra Lateral, while NT Gas’ Darren Flaus finished the day with a presentation on the commencement of operations on the Bonaparte Gas Pipeline, which accepted unprocessed gas from the Blacktip Gas Field at the start of its operation. Mr Flaus said that a corrosion inhibitor was put through the pipeline via three pigs with liquid between them. These pigs were then run through the pipeline a number of times.

After a day of presentations, POG attendees networked over dinner and drinks, before hearing from POG Dinner speaker, the New Zealand Associate Minister for Energy and Resources Pansy Wong. The dinner was sponsored by Vector and the New Zealand Refining Company.

Natural gas makes up the second largest component of New Zealand’s energy mix, and Ms Wong handles the portfolio for the country’s onshore gas developments.

Ms Wong stated that the New Zealand Government is endeavouring to make the country an attractive global destination for gas production and exploration. She said that there are many geological formations that are yet to be explored, and there is significant potential for petroleum to be found.

Ms Wong said that the improvement of transmission and wholesale arrangements for natural gas is needed to ensure that the gas market can sustain a change to more diverse energy supplies. She said that work is continuing with industry stakeholders to address this issue.

In addition, the New Zealand Government is considering a short-term trading market, working toward the establishment of a gas trading hub. Ms Wong said that the Government is currently investigating how to integrate this with existing practices, and the industry is to play a huge part in developing a solution.

Ms Wong concluded by saying that the New Zealand Government was committed to growing the natural gas industry, and hence the pipeline sector, within the country.