How long has Fyfe been established and how was it started?
The company was founded 30 years ago by Ross Fyfe. Initially it operated in property development and aimed to be one of the “˜big guys’ in surveying.
From the mid-1980s, more and more people came to the company who had experience in both property and oil and gas. In the 1990s, Fyfe started to turn its eyes to pipelines as the property market died down – aiming to reduce its reliance on the cyclical property sector.
What does your current role at Fyfe encompass?
My role at Fyfe has changed a little recently. For the last seven years I have had dual roles of Chairman and Managing Director. In November 2012 we appointed an Independent Chairman Stuart Glenn. This has allowed me to concentrate on the strategy of growing the business. A large part of my work also focuses on client relations and working with our management team to ensure the business is tracking well.
What other industries have you been involved in throughout your career?
In the 1970s and early 1980s I was involved in the entertainment industry as a promoter and band manager. The business was established by my father Ivan Dayman who managed various artists, included Normie Rowe, Johnny O’Keefe and many other big names. I ran the Adelaide operations and organised events that featured big names of the 1980s including Cold Chisel, Australian Crawl, Sherbet,
Mi-Sex and many others.
In those days the entertainment industry was not your everyday ethical business. It taught me how to read people and demographics, and judge how the market and what would work given those factors. However, by my mid-20s I decided it was not for me.
My first involvement in the pipeline industry was in the mid-1970s and then in the early 1980s working on projects in the Cooper Basin. Some career changes meant I was not involved again until 1995. Since 1995, my involvement has been on a continual basis.
Fyfe undertakes a lot of engineering and design contracts for the pipeline industry. Why has the company has made this area one of its main focuses?
Fyfe’s pipeline engineering services started in 1996 when it saw an opportunity to fill a niche area of fit-for-purpose services on remote area pipelines that was not being serviced. The real benefit Fyfe could provide was through consolidated services that commenced with drilling activities and completed with the connection of the product to the pipeline system.
The company’s engineering business has concentrated on oil and gas field development due to the repeating nature of the business opportunities. This has now been more fashionably labelled “˜upstream’ and has a higher focus within the oil and gas industry today.
What are some of the biggest pipeline contracts that Fyfe has been involved in?
Traditionally Fyfe’s major contracts have been on projects in the Cooper and Surat basins. These are generally long-term covering a full range of disciplines. In the last ten years, Fyfe has successfully broadened the engineering services into the transmission pipelines sector.
Some of our bigger clients in South Australia (SA) that build and operate pipelines are SEA Gas, Epic Energy, Santos, Beach Petroleum, Senex Energy and APA Group.
What will be next frontier for Fyfe?
Fyfe’s strategy many years ago was to move into the gas industry to diversify the business. Today, 80 per cent of the business operates within the gas or related industries, so it is now time to rebalance the business again.
While Fyfe will continue to strengthen its business in the oil and gas industry, it is building in other sectors of property and infrastructure. New acquisitions and mergers will see Fyfe grow in sector and locations, which is likely to include operations in other countries.
What do you see as the three most challenging issues facing the Australian pipeline industry at present?
1. The high cost of doing business in Australia including wages, taxes, over regulation and loss of competitive advantage through currency changes. All productivity losses in government and business ultimately increase project cost. Every step must be necessary, efficient and add value.
2. The increasing need for training as a large number of people have entered the pipeline industry recently.
3. The availability of experienced pipeline engineers and other professionals to support the current large amount of project work.
What do you see as the most critical future issues facing the industry?
1. The retirement of experienced pipeline personnel from the industry over the next ten years.
2. The increasing reliance on overseas supplied material for project work.
3. Maintaining the competitiveness of pipeline transportation against the recent increase in project costs.
4. The effect that increases in gas prices (due to the higher prices for LNG) will have on pipeline construction activity.
How do you see the role of natural gas within SA developing in the coming years?
Natural gas will continue to play a significant role within SA for power generation and domestic use. As coal fired power stations such as the Northern Power Station and Victorian coal-fired stations are decommissioned, there will be an increasing requirement for gas burning at Torrens and Pelican Point power stations in SA.
The completion of the QSN Link and the SEA Gas Pipeline has helped reaffirm the eastern Australian gas network. What have these pipelines meant for the South Australian gas market?
These pipelines have made it possible for coal seam gas from Queensland and Otway natural gas to be delivered to SA. This has increased the security of gas supply to SA as it no longer relies solely on gas supply from the Cooper Basin.
Encroachment is a major issue in the construction of transmission pipelines, not just in SA, but for the rest of Australia. What measures do you believe need to be implemented so that this issue is appropriately managed?
The pipeline industry needs to improve its understanding of the development and property industries, engage with developers and planners with influence and ensure these industries are aware of pipeline owner’s requirements.
What are some of your passions outside of the Australian pipeline industry?
Even though I have never played the sport, I am President of South Australian Water Polo. I get quite a bit of enjoyment from working as a volunteer to help deliver a great sport for the both young and not so young. If you could call it a hobby, I enjoy following the real estate market in most states. All of these activities involve the family which is where I really get my enjoyment outside of work and industry.
What makes South Australia such a great state?
Being pretty central, affordable living, an easy city to live in, great beaches, great rural attractions and overall a great life style. Not to mention a great city for the gas business.
