McConnell Dowell is currently halfway through four years of building two of the large-diameter gas pipelines for the coal seam gas (CSG) industry. As it prepares for the next two years, the company says that is has reached significant milestones on the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) export pipeline and gas collection header (export), the QCLNG – Narrows (Narrows) Project and the Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) Project. McConnell Dowell has also commenced start-up works on the Gladstone LNG (GLNG) Project’s Roma hub and pipeline package.
Whilst operating on a lone contract on Santos’ GLNG project, McConnell Dowell formed a joint venture with Consolidated Contracting Company (CCC), under the banner of MCJV, for the QCLNG and
APLNG projects.
Contracts in focus
In collaboration with the various LNG projects’ management teams, The Australian Pipeliner details how McConnell Dowell approached each LNG project differently due to variations within the separate project contracts, the challenges and how local communities have been engaged in the development of the pipelines.
Project scopes and experiences
On the APLNG Project, the MCJV team worked with Origin (as the upstream operator for APLNG) since early 2010 in an early contractor involvement (ECI) capacity. The MCJV was engaged to develop the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract and has assisted with planning, approvals, procurement, budgets and estimates. By the time MCJV completes its scope of work, some personnel will have been involved with the project for close to five years.
In contrast, the sheer volume of land covered by QCLNG sets it apart from previous McConnell Dowell pipeline projects. This poses one of the biggest challenges for the project in terms of resourcing, staffing and management of various work fronts and activities. The project also impacts a large number of external stakeholders including over 200 directly affected properties over four local government areas.
GLNG highlights a different experience again and on top of constructing pipelines, McConnell Dowell has been required to take a multi-discipline approach, constructing facilities for gas compression, power generation and water treatment.
Client relationships
McConnell Dowell has experience in various contracting strategies, from fixed-price arrangements through to risk-and-reward-based systems such as ECI and Alliances. With a strong balance sheet and access to financial backing via the Aveng Group, its financial strength also allows the team to be an active participant in public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
Clients have different needs when proposing a project, so McConnell Dowell is able to adapt to that proponent’s particular needs.
The APLNG Project commenced in early 2010, with the MCJV being awarded the early works contract. The scope was to provide key personnel to work in an integrated team until the EPC contract was awarded in May 2011. This format enabled the proponent APLNG and the contractor to work collaboratively on all aspects of the project development, particularly identification and allocation of risk, and importantly, to develop the key relationships to successfully deliver this challenging project.
The QCLNG Project used a tender process that challenged contractors to submit the best lump-sum offer for the award of an EPC contract. Now the project is underway, it has shifted to a consultative and effective working relationship, enabling the team to best deliver the project.
GLNG involved early secondment of key personnel into Fluor’s offices to establish baseline principles such as material selection, construction methodologies, schedule and high-level pricing estimates during FEED. This was followed by open-market tenders for numerous packages that McConnell Dowell competitively bid for. This culminated in the award of the Roma hub and pipelines work which is currently underway.
Pipeline safety techniques
McConnell Dowell recently bolstered its Home without harm – everyone, everyday, the Golden Rules and further commitment by launching the Seven Pillars of Safety initiative.
The initiative, which was recently rolled out to all McConnell Dowell and MCJV staff, was developed to ensure the project culture had strong awareness of each pillar and that all staff, at all levels, adhered to it.
Alongside the Seven Pillars initiative, each project develops its own safety approaches, taking into account corporate requirements, partner relationships, contractual requirements, environment and the project location.
For each project, specific initiatives have been employed, taking into consideration the stage of works currently being undertaken. For example, the QCLNG Project involved fitting all light vehicles with an “˜In Vehicle Monitoring System’ (IVMS), which detects speed, driving behaviour and vehicle location. This system reports in real time to a journey management centre. Reports are then generated out of the information gathered by the monitoring system and used as a training tool to help manage and improve driver behaviour. The system also stores information that forms part of the analysis in the event of an accident. The journey management centre also provides communications support in the event of an emergency, liaising with and directing emergency services to the scene of the incident.
On projects, McConnell Dowell takes on specific client efforts to increase health and safety targets. On the GLNG Project, the workforce has adopted Fluor’s Managing Safety to Zero (MS20) program, which tracks leading and trailing indicators such as daily audits, near-miss incidents and hazards eliminated, in real time, for the purpose of pro-actively improving working conditions and reducing incidents. This system draws upon key statistical information that is sourced from Fluor’s projects worldwide.
Key challenges that have emerged for the team working on the APLNG Project, include travel, lifting, fatigue and varying levels of experience of the workforce. In response, the team has implemented initiatives such as:
- Latest generation IVMS with emergency response capability;
- Vaculift operations and maintenance training;
- Implementation of a fatigue-management program; and,
- Targeted supervisor training workshops.
A Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Leadership Team has also been established at the various projects. The group consists of senior managers from both the contractor and the client. Quarterly meetings are held to promote HSE innovations, behaviours and steer HSE initiatives to completion.
Engineering challenges
On the APLNG Project, the MCJV engineering team has developed several innovative solutions for pipe stress, anchoring and liquid management. The team has overcome the historic issues around pipeline anchoring at the transitional zone between above-ground and below-ground piping, utilising the virtual anchor length of the pipeline and ensuring adequate movement is accommodated in the above-ground piping design. The issue of potential liquid carry through the pipeline system has created challenges in the identification of its existence and dealing with the removal. Engineering has designed a cyclone separator system which handles both identification and removal. These separators will be installed at two locations to ensure early detection and removal.
Working in environmentally sensitive areas also presents its own set of unique engineering challenges. On QCLNG, late changes to the direction of the pipeline alignment were required as a result of reviewing creek crossings, sharp inclines, ranges and land-holder requests during detailed design. Changes were made to the alignment due to bottle trees, which are an important ecological feature to the landscape. In one instance, changes could not be made to the alignment, so considerable effort was expended relocating the bottle tree elsewhere on the property.
Narrows also encountered issues which were resolved through taking an alternative engineering approach, such as;
- Design of the facilities to cater for liquids handling from the gas;
- Various construction methods being adopted for the different crossing characteristics ranging from dredge, to open cut and trenchless horizontal directional drilling (HDD);
- Temporary works design including causeway, bridges and sheetpile coffer dam works for the crossing;
- Considerations for acid sulphate soils on the Narrows crossing;
- Logistics constraints for the transport of materials to Curtis Island; and,
- Weather-related and sensitive area restrictions.
Currently, the depth of the scour zones is being carefully considered to protect the integrity of the pipeline from a 1-in-100-year rainfall event.
Landowner liasons
Liaison with local landowners on each project is driven, in the first instance, by the different contract models. This, coupled with McConnell Dowell’s belief that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution, means that the company witnessed variations across the three projects.
As the upstream operator for the APLNG Project, Origin has developed strong relationships with landowners. The MCJV works closely with land liaison officers to ensure stakeholders are informed of upcoming works to minimise construction impacts and disruption. To support this, all supervisors are trained in the Land Access Code to ensure all the APLNG Project’s obligations are met. Project representatives meet regularly with local government to discuss a range of matters including traffic and transport, permits and approvals and other community-related issues.
On the QCLNG Project, the project team is in close communication with project landowners who live along the pipeline construction route, all of whom have been supportive of the project and appreciate the challenges faced by the rapid growth of the CSG industry in Queensland. The MCJV and QGC Export landholder engagement team consists of ten land liaison representatives covering the 542.7 km pipeline route, who are responsible for maintaining direct and regular communication with the construction workforce and the landholders.
In contrast, the Narrows Crossing Project has few directly affected landholders; which includes several graziers at Phillipies Landing. Other LNG proponents and third-party service providers on Curtis Island are all part of the bigger team and are an integral part of the project communication network allowing all project team members to receive on-time accurate information.
Local supplier usage
Whenever it is viable, McConnell Dowell sources local suppliers and goods at project level, along with the hiring of local people. This provides close and efficient access to materials and services while feeding money and business back to the local communities and townships, which in turn builds better community and business relationships.
The scope of these commitments is also to maximise, where possible, Indigenous involvement. McConnell Dowell aims to ensure competitive local industry is provided full, fair and reasonable opportunity to tender for infrastructure projects. To achieve this, each project:
- Identifies ways to maximise local employment opportunities for people and businesses, to provide a positive impact on workers, their families, and communities affected by construction;
- Provides clear and transparent communications that ensure expectations are managed in the local communities;
- Has a commitment to Indigenous participation where appropriate and feasible; and,
- Develops practices that demonstrate an inclusive and welcoming environment for Indigenous and prospective employees.
Underpinning this is McConnell Dowell’s recently released Australian Indigenous Participation Policy. The company has committed to a minimum target of 900 employment and training opportunities over ten years for Indigenous Australians which meet the Australian Employment Covenant (AEC) requirement.
Flow-on benefits to local communities
APLNG has developed a number of legacy initiatives ranging from formal sponsorships and infrastructure upgrades to community funding for local schools and community groups. Local businesses are also encouraged to tender for work on the project.
QCLNG takes a two-pronged approach, through both social and community funding initiatives. Narrows has almost half of its workforce employed directly from the Gladstone area and a significant percentage has relocated to the Gladstone area to work on the project. Export and Narrows workers utilise local services such as cafes, restaurants, post offices, newsagents and recreational facilities, bringing valuable revenue to the local business community. Local charities are also provided support. Like QGC, MCJV has contributed a substantial amount of money to various community needs programs since the 2010 floods, including a new rescue boat for Chinchilla state emergency service, supporting a local-buy campaign in North Burnett and flood-prevention infrastructure in Gladstone.
Welding processes
The large diameter of LNG pipelines has necessitated the use of semi-automatic welding processes to facilitate the productivity and mechanical requirements needed.
For QCLNG, the pipe is being welded out by specifically imported Pipe Welding Technology (PWT) machines and CRC fourth-generation automatic welding machines – these being the latest technology welding machines available.
The 46,200 welds on the Gas Collection Header and Export Pipeline will be subject to 100 per cent automatic ultrasonic testing to ensure they meet Australian and international standards and that QGC can be confident of the pipeline’s integrity.
Every weld is inspected, tested and verified before the pipe can be laid in the trench and buried.
Challenges of working in remote locations
Three of the main challenges that have emerged from working in remote locations are accommodation, plant and equipment haulage, and mobilisation of personnel.
Accommodation and transport of up to 1,100 personnel on APLNG is one of the major challenges for the project. Camp locations are planned so that drive times to and from the right-of-way are minimised. A total of seven camps will be constructed, with up to four camps in use at any one time. Purpose-built, 18-seater 4WD buses are used to transport crews to site each day. A combination of buses and commercial and charter aircrafts will transport personnel to Brisbane and other destinations on cycle break.
In addition to dealing with the need to transport workers from camps to worksites, QCLNG has had to consider ways to manage export project haulage routes. Some of the roads are unsealed, quite narrow, and full of potholes which are ill-suited to heavy vehicles. Pre-survey works were undertaken to document road conditions before use. The team worked closely with council to approve traffic-management plans. Commercial agreements have been put in place, for instance, with local suppliers to identify ways to limit haulage by using resources supplied locally and close to construction. The Narrows project also had the added complexity of moving plant, equipment and materials from the mainland, across the waterway to Curtis Island. A number of marine vehicles were purchased, repurposed, and now transport both workers and equipment across. A significant advantage to the various communities is the road and route upgrade provided by the project at project cost, an action that has wide-reaching benefits.
Environmental and cultural heritage challenges
Environment and cultural heritage are currently two of the greatest challenges currently affecting the CSG industry. Legislation is incredibly dynamic, making compliance, for everybody involved a challenge. Consequently, very tight internal procedures are required to ensure everything is met, under current guidelines and within specified timeframes.
Most projects are subject to stringent environmental and cultural heritage requirements and commitments. The projects which McConnell Dowell works on are no exception. The integrated project team works closely with regulators and stakeholders to agree on plans and processes to meet these requirements.
The Narrows section of QCLNG has undertaken extreme and dedicated measures for the protection of the fauna related to the projects. Culverts have been installed to protect the pathways of the water-mouse. The aim is to ensure its habitat and breeding routine is not impacted by construction activities. Similarly, a white-bellied sea eagle’s nest was discovered close by the ROW on Curtis Island. The McConnell Dowell team mounted several attempts to cover the eagle’s nest to prevent occupancy; after many strategies and failed attempts, the team was successful.
Export faces its own environmental challenges and relies on tight internal procedures verifying compliance. The Construction Environment Management Plan and its suite of supporting documents were developed in consultation with QGC and implemented to address stringent requirements. Regular joint MCJV and QGC inspections were conducted with actions being tracked through Environment Improvement Notifications, Non-Conformance Reports and Audit Action Close-Out Systems. These processes are essential in achieving compliance in some of the environmental challenges that affect the project, including weed and pathogen, spread mitigation, a ten-day-maximum construction period for crossing water courses, robust erosion and sediment controls, and noise-emission and mitigation requirements.
APLNG is working closely with the relevant government agencies to agree plans and processes to meet the stringent project requirements. Extensive flora, fauna, and soil studies have been undertaken and associated management plans have been developed. Detailed erosion and sediment-control plans have been developed for all construction areas. Origin has also managed cultural heritage requirements; MCJV is providing assistance and onsite support where necessary.
Innovations and developments
During the early works planning phase for APLNG, McConnell Dowell’s team explored key strategic initiatives including specifying triple random pipe lengths to increase productivity, optimising camp spacing to reduce travel times, mobilising light-weight extendable trailers to maximise meterage of pipe transported, planning the construction schedule around historic weather patterns, and initiating supervisors’ workshops to improve HSE outcomes.
The state-of-the-art Journey Management Centre (JMC), which has been rolled out on QCLNG, is part of the innovation to enhance McConnell Dowell’s commitment to get workers Home Without Harm; Everyone Everyday.
The QCLNG Project realised that the management of driving and journeys could not function to ALARP level if managed locally by supervisors and line management; this was the basis for the establishment of the JMC from the start of the project.
Some of the JMC functions include:
- Alerts for hazards and risks associated with driving;
- Provision of land transport-related data to client for compliance requirements;
- Being a central point for response and escalation of emergency incidents;
- Monitoring IVMS real-time data and driver communication; and,
- Capturing and recording all noncompliance events.
The JMC is based in Chinchilla, Queensland, and is manned 24 hours per day, seven days per week by trained and competent operators – mainly locally employed personnel.
An environmental consideration – erosion and sediment control
The MCJV environment team working on the QCLNG Project identified early in the project that erosion and sediment controls were of high risk and significant importance during construction. Primarily due to the 542.7 km spread, the nature of the problematic soil types to be encountered, very stringent government regulations and conditions were imposed.
Project teams have placed significant emphasis on meeting all expectations of erosion and sediment control. The process to meet environmental compliance meant developing a robust risk-assessment plan and a detailed process for managing the risk of non-compliance of erosion and sediment control measures. This is known as Drainage Erosion and Sediment Control Plans (DESCPs). As a starting point, MCJV developed the DESCPs using the International Erosion and Sediment Control Association (IECA) Guidelines 2008. It ensured a consistent, detailed and verifiable process to demonstrate compliance, but to also provide detailed drawings for ROW construction teams to implement controls.
The result of this process saw a positive response from MCJV’s client, its Independent Certified Practicing Erosion and Sediment Control consultant, and various regulatory bodies. The project team is in full swing for the reinstatement and regeneration phase of the pipeline construction and aims for further successes in the coming months.
Background
Formed in 1961, McConnell Dowell is a major engineering, construction, building and maintenance contractor with an established reputation for delivering complex projects to the building, infrastructure and resources sectors. The company recently celebrated its 50-year anniversary. With Australian and international contracts, annual revenue is in excess of $2 billion and staff number well over 10,000.
Pipelines form a core part of McConnell Dowell’s capability and, as one of Australia’s leading pipeline contractors, the company has delivered over 200 pipelines both locally and internationally.
McConnell Dowell’s holistic approach provides a whole-of-service solution for all projects it undertakes.
McConnell Dowell is also at the forefront of modularisation and pre-assembly with in-house fabrication and precast facilities located at Batam, Thailand and Dubai. The company’s approach minimises site labour, enhances quality and reduces onsite construction programs.