PII Technology Selected to Support Australian Natural Gas Pipeline Security
27 July 2010
PII Pipeline Solutions, a GE Oil & Gas and Al Shaheen joint venture, has been selected to help improve the long-term security of two of Australia’s most important natural gas pipelines.Securing the Dampier-to-Bunbury Pipeline
The 1,400-kilometer Dampier-to-Bunbury Pipeline (DBN) is one of Western Australia’s key energy supply assets. The 26-inch DBN pipeline is owned by Dampier-to-Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP) of Perth and delivers gas from the Carnarvon Basin in the North West Shelf to industrial, commercial and residential customers in the city of Perth and the surrounding region.
In the awarded contract, PII is supplying PipeView TM Integrity, its advanced suite of pipeline data monitoring and management software for deployment on the DBN pipeline through Contract Resources, its Australian operational partner on the project.
Michael Bellamy, general manager—PII Pipeline Solutions said: “We are very pleased to partner with Contract Resources in supporting the energy supply security priorities of DBNGP with our reliable pipeline integrity technology.”
In May 2010, teams from PII’s pipeline data management Center of Excellence in Mission, Kansas, U.S. began implementing the project for the Dampier-to-Bunbury Pipeline. The two software modules include data-loading alignment and condition-assessment applications.
Designing Custom Solution for Moomba-to-Sydney Gas Pipeline
In addition, PII recently signed a three-year contract to deploy one of its newest pipeline inspection tools — the EmatScanÔ CD — to inspect nine (9), 150-km segments of the Moomba-to-Sydney Gas Pipeline, owned and operated by APA Group, Australia's largest natural gas infrastructure business.
The Moomba-to-Sydney Gas Pipeline is 2,029 km long and links the Cooper Basin gas fields at Moomba with distribution networks in Sydney and regional New South Wales. The pipeline is one of two pipelines that deliver gas to the Sydney area.
PII will use the new Third Generation EmatScan tool to perform an estimated two inspection runs each year over the three-year contract period for enhanced crack detection and analysis, as part of APA’s pipeline integrity management programme.
PII’s Bellamy added: “Multi-year inspection contracts, like the APA project, allow for a more seamless comparison of data from multiple inspections over a period of time. This approach enables us to support operators with more effective monitoring of potential crack growth rates and devise cost-effective mitigation plans.”
Currently available for 30 and 36-inch lines, PII is developing a customized EmatScan CD to navigate the 34-inch Moomba-to-Sydney line. The tool is scheduled for launch in the Winter 2010-11. PII is leveraging project management and engineering resources from its facility in Stutensee, Germany for the APA program.
PII previously used its pipeline inspection technology for DBNGP and APA inspections. In 2009, APA was one of the world’s first operators to deploy PII’s latest generation of MagneScanÔ MFL inspection tools.
