APA Group awarded McConnell Dowell the Murrin Murrin Looping – Stage 1 (MUE) contract in August last year, and both the Lake Way Gas Pipeline (LWP) and the Karlawinda Gas Pipeline (KGP) contracts last October.
All three projects are located in remote WA, with MUE approximately 50 km east of Leonara, LWP on the outskirts of Wiluna, and the KGP approximately 70 km south of Newman.
McConnell Dowell Group Technical Director Leon Richards said all three pipelines were constructed simultaneously, with the start-up and construction coordination overlapping for the projects that stretch some 800 km apart.
Pipeline specifications
The MUE pipeline is a 13.8 km DN300 gas pipeline with a high pressure of 10.2 MPa MAOP.
Upon completion, the MUE was tied into the existing Murrin Murrin Lateral (MML), at KP66, which is an 80 km DN200 pipeline that McConnell Dowell constructed back in 1998, and was also tied into the existing Eastern Goldfields Offtake Station at KP80.
Mr Richards said the MUE – which took only 2–3 months to complete including tie-in facilities at either end – is a necessary addition to APA’s Eastern Goldfields Pipeline system.
“Therefore, the MUE will provide increased gas capacity to mining resource customers downstream of the Eastern Goldfields Offtake Station.”
The LWP is a 25.9 km DN100 pipeline while the KGP is a 55.5 km DN100 pipeline, and like the MUE, both pipelines are 10.2 MPa MAOP high pressure gas pipelines.
Mr Richards said the LWP and KGP are both new laterals off the DN350 Goldfields Gas Pipeline (GGP), and took two and three months to complete construction works respectively.
The LWP provides gas to a new mine site being established approximately 30 km south of Wiluna by Salt Lake Potash Ltd, while the KGP provides gas to a new gold mine site being established approximately 100 km south of Newman by Capricorn Metals.
To construct the new pipelines, McConnell Dowell employed traditional open cut excavation methods and predominately used chain trenchers and excavators.
The pipe used on all three projects comprised API 5L X52M PSL2 line pipe.
Once constructed, McConnell Dowell hydrostatically tested the LWP and KGP pipelines to the new AS2885.5 2020 version, marking the company’s first time to adopt the newly revised version of the Australian Standard.
Remote project difficulties
McConnell Dowell Senior Project Engineer Andrew Tsitas said logistics are often a challenge when constructing and servicing remote pipeline projects, and these projects were no exception considering the difficult circumstances of 2020.
“Things happen at a slower pace in the outback, especially during a pandemic,” he said.
“Quite a few of the specialist pipeline operators and supervisors are typically sourced from the eastern states of Australia, so the team had to manage the challenges posed with state borders opening and closing during the pandemic along with quarantine requirements.”
Mr Tsitas said there were also weather challenges as the team was constructing these remote pipelines during the wet season along the Tropic of Capricorn, while there were Aboriginal Cultural Heritage areas the McConnell Dowell team also needed to be conscious of.
“On LWP we have several very narrow (8 m) pipeline ROW working widths through sensitive Aboriginal Cultural Heritage areas,” said Mr Tsitas.
“Closely working with the Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation monitors on site has led to a successful outcome to ensure all obligations were met.
“McConnell Dowell respects and takes its cultural heritage commitments seriously on all projects around Australia.”
Longstanding relationship continues
Mr Tsitas says McConnell Dowell’s heritage in Australia was forged from gas pipelines it constructed for the Gas & Fuel Corporation Victoria in the 1970s.
From there, the relationship in WA between McConnell Dowell and APA grew from APA’s GasNet days, where McConnell Dowell constructed the Telfer Gas Pipeline (440 km of DN250) and Nifty Gas Pipeline (40 km of DN150) for the company between 2003 and 2005.
In recent years, McConnell Dowell has constructed the VNIE Stage 1 Pipeline from Wollert Compressor Station to Wandong in Victoria for APA, as well as the Agnew Gas Pipeline in WA in 2019.
The three recent contract awards and project completions add to the two companies’ longstanding relationship.
For more information visit the McConnell Dowell website.
This article was featured in the March 2021 edition of The Australian Pipeliner. To view the magazine on your PC, Mac, tablet or mobile device, click here.
