The Zinfra brand will celebrate its two-year anniversary in April 2014. Please explain why and how the Zinfra brand was established.
The Zinfra brand was established as part of the separation of Australian energy infrastructure company Jemena into a separate assets business and separate services business. The services business began trading as Zinfra Group on 1 April 2012 and Zinfra is the primary delivery brand under the Zinfra Group banner. Having emerged out of Jemena – an entity that built, owned, operated and maintained many of Australia’s major gas transmission and distribution assets – Zinfra has a significant role in the construction and maintenance of various gas assets across Australia and an intimate understanding of the gas industry.
What are Zinfra’s core competencies when it comes to pipeline contract work?
Zinfra’s core competency in relation to pipeline work is the technical operation and maintenance of gas transmission and distribution networks. The company also has strong capability in design and construction of pipelines and associated facilities, such as pressure reduction stations, compressor stations and secondary regulator stations.
Having emerged from a utility asset owner and through various ownership changes, Zinfra has maintained capability and significant operational responsibility for the southern half of the NSW Jemena gas network and the entire ActewAGL gas network. Those ownership changes have included the AGL gas network in Sydney, which incorporated Australian Standard AS 2885 gas pipelines and facilities, and its ownership transition to Alinta and Jemena.
Similarly, Zinfra has operational responsibility of the Multinet Gas northern network, which also includes AS 2885 gas pipelines and facilities that Zinfra gained from when Alinta had a minority shareholding in Multinet Gas, in the early days after privatisation.
What does your current role at Zinfra Group entail?
I am responsible for the operation, repair and maintenance, and construction of the southern region of the Jemena gas network and the ActewAGL gas network. This involves responsibility for around 17,000 km of gas transmission and distribution pipelines and over 100 related facilities and a total workforce of over 400 employees and contractors across NSW and the Australian Capital Territory.
The operations work on the ActewAGL gas network includes first and critical response activities on the network through to construction of recent facilities, such as the recent major upgrade Zinfra completed of the Fyshwick Trunk Receiving Station. The upgrade was carried out to boost the natural gas supply capacity and improve security of supply to the ACT and Queanbeyan regions. Zinfra has a team of specialist gas service technicians, electrical and instrumentation fitters to deliver this type of project and maintain this important infrastructure.
What other roles have you held within the pipeline industry and what have been some of your fondest memories of working in the industry?
I have held a number of interesting roles with the industry. Two of the most exciting roles I have held were with AGL. In one of these roles, I was responsible for the extension of natural gas into the Riverina area of NSW. This was a really exciting role as it was a first in terms of introducing natural gas to the area, and involved the construction of 175 km gas transmission pipeline, over 400 km of distribution pipeline and many gas facilities. The result included the sales of over 1 petajoule of natural gas within a three-year period. Following this role, I moved from the Riverina area to central west NSW to introduce natural gas to this region. This resulted in the construction of 255 km of gas transmission pipeline and over
600 km of gas distribution pipelines. Again, there were significant gas sales achieved to underwrite this investment.
Following on from these roles, I was involved in the development of further gas infrastructure before leaving AGL in 2006. I joined Jemena in 2010 after three years in the LPG and LNG industry to again take up various positions within the natural gas infrastructure fold, which led to the role I now hold as General Manager Network Services NSW/ACT with Zinfra Group.
Have you worked in any other industries throughout your career?
Yes. In between working for AGL and Zinfra Group I spent three-and-a-half years in a business development role with Wesfarmers Kleenheat Gas.
What are some of the major pipeline projects the Zinfra team has been involved in and was there anything unique or innovative about the company’s approach to these projects?
Zinfra (as part of Jemena Infrastructure Services) worked on the Sydney Primary Loop (SPL) project for the Jemena gas network, from 2006-2009. The SPL is a 30 km high pressure transmission pipeline that extends Sydney’s existing primary main network and was commissioned in order to increase security of supply to approximately 400,000 homes and businesses throughout Sydney. Zinfra provided complete project services to Jemena, from concept design to project management through to long-term asset management. Zinfra’s innovative approach to design and construction on the SPL was recognised by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia’s Annual Excellence Awards.
One of the most unique and innovative projects that Zinfra completed was the design and construction of the Colongra Pipeline Lateral to deliver gas to Delta Electricity’s 600 megawatt gas-fired 413341.png413345.png peaking power station and to store enough gas to allow the station to run at full capacity for five hours. As part of the project scope, Zinfra was tasked to find a way to store 9 km of fully pressured gas in a 3 km stretch of land. The innovative solution involved using the largest diameter onshore gas pipeline ever used in Australia (1,067 mm) and double looping to create the required storage capacity with an operating pressure of 3.4-13 mega pascals.
Zinfra has was also responsible for the Rolleston and Banana Compressor Station projects, which were part of a set of key components of the expansion works to increase the Queensland Gas Pipeline’s available capacity from 74 terajoules per day (TJ/d) to 133 TJ/d. Zinfra completed all of the major stages of the project, including feasibility, design, procurement, construction and commissioning and delivered the project on time, on budget and with no recorded loss time injuries.
Are there any pipeline contracts that Zinfra Group is currently working on or types of contracts it’s looking to secure?
Zinfra is currently working on a number of pipeline projects and facilities in the Canberra region for ActewAGL, including the Hume Primary Pipeline Extension, the Hume to Tuggeranong Secondary Pipeline and the Gungahlin to Amaroo Secondary Pipeline projects.
Zinfra is also completing projects at the Hume pressure reduction station, the Canberra pigging facilities, the Nowra pigging facilities and the Stringybark water bath heater inspection facilities.
The NSW gas industry has recently been subjected to a number of tough regulations. In light of these tighter controls, how do you see the role of natural gas playing out in NSW?
Currently around 90 per cent of NSW gas comes from interstate. In addition, it is well acknowledged that the current NSW gas supply arrangements will be partially exhausted within the next few years. To sustain the current and ever-increasing gas demands of Australia’s most populated state, it is critical that, where possible, the state has the necessary combination of local gas production and infrastructure that transverses from further afield to ensure gas supply to this market.
A number of projects in the region have been suspended indefinitely, including major pipeline infrastructure. In your opinion, is NSW setting itself up to be regarded as a risky place for future investment?
It is imperative that NSW’s current and future annual gas consumption requirements are maintained at a competitive landed gas price for industry and consumers alike. The answer is most likely to have the right mix of local production and further gas infrastructure development.
In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge the pipeline industry faces at present?
The biggest challenges are to continue to maintain the right balance between the necessity to transport natural gas from various gas production fields to the demand markets and off-take facilities, and to maintain the right balance of building infrastructure while also managing land owner’s needs. Ultimately, it’s about getting the right balance between respecting the environment and land owners, and the need for new infrastructure. Over the past 50 years, the industry has done this well and it’s critical we continue to do this.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Whilst I have lived predominantly in NSW for over 30 years, one of my greatest passions remains AFL football and my beloved Collingwood. Outside of the winter season I have a passion for all types of fishing, from deep sea fishing to freshwater native and
trout fishing.
Having spent a lot of your career working in the NSW region, what makes it a good state to work in?
I was fortunate enough to work in the gas industry in NSW in the 1980s and 1990s when the industry undertook its greatest growth and expansion, and Sydney was being converted from towns gas to natural gas. I also worked in NSW at the time of the greatest expansion of natural gas throughout regional and rural NSW and was heavily involved in this. Working during such significant periods of change in the industry has made it a great state to work in.