Jemena has played an important role in supporting development in Gladstone and Rockhampton by ensuring gas supply is available for industry through the 627 km, 324mm diameter Queensland Gas Pipeline (QGP). In 2009, the company completed a looping expansion of the QGP, which increased the capacity to 49 PJ/a of gas.
Following the pipeline looping expansion, Jemena completed construction of a Jemena-owned metering station and a Rio Tinto-owned off-take station from the QGP as part of Rio Tinto Alcan’s Yarwun Alumina Refinery expansion, located near Gladstone.
Jemena Major Projects Project Manager Mark Rathbone said “This project is the key part of the jigsaw that includes Jemena’s QGP expansion and two compressor stations. The project will supply seven times the gas the refinery currently takes.”
Why were the new facilities needed?
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The $US1.5 billion Yarwun 2 expansion is set to more than double the annual alumina production of the existing operation to 3.4 MMt/a by 2013.
Rio Tinto said that one of the most important features of the Yarwun 2 expansion is the new equipment designed to reduce the refinery’s air and greenhouse gas emissions. A 160 MW gas-fired cogeneration facility which reduces CO2 emissions per tonne of alumina by 35 per cent relative to coal, and also feeds surplus electricity back into the power grid.
The cogeneration facility consists of a turbine which burns natural gas to produce heat for steam production, while also turning a generator to produce electricity.
Jemena was required to construct the new metering and off-take facility to allow more gas to flow to the refinery. Construction was successfully completed and commissioned to the client’s specifications ahead of schedule, under budget and without any lost time injuries.
On the handing over of facilities, Yarwun 2 General Manager David Yeoman said that the gas pipeline metering and off-take stations are “integral to the functionality of the cogeneration facility”.
Supporting industry
In addition to Rio Tinto, the QGP supplies gas to other large industrial customers in Gladstone and Rockhampton, such as Queensland Alumina, Orica, Boyne Smelter and Queensland Magnesia. Gas is also supplied to the small retail distribution networks of Gladstone, Rockhampton and Wide Bay.
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