Peter Cox joined the industry fresh out of university just over 20 years ago, when he began work on his maiden project, a 24 inch hot tap on a Class 600 line for Petroleum Refineries Australia, which at the time was jointly owned by Esso and Mobil. He has since acquired experience in onshore gas pipelines and compressor stations in rural Australia, and oil and gas pipelines in Papua New Guinea and Asia.

In 1991, Mr Cox joined Worley (now WorleyParsons) and began working on the 937 km, 450 mm diameter South West Queensland Pipeline (SWQP) project, running between Wallumbilla in South East Queensland and Moomba in South Australia, which the company engineered for Tenneco.

“I had the unenviable task of identifying all the cable crossings and negotiating with utility owners,” Mr Cox says.

After 12 years, Mr Cox took over as WorleyParsons’ National Pipelines Manager from his long-time mentor Bruce Andrews.

A highlight for Mr Cox during his time at WorleyParsons has been his involvement in the 734 km Tasmanian Gas Pipeline, which saw the first gas supply to the state since town gas reticulation. Over his two-year involvement on the project, Mr Cox was involved from the initial feasibility studies to engineering support throughout the construction process.

“It was the first major pipeline project in which I was responsible for leading the engineering and design,” Mr Cox says.

With its demanding onshore and offshore components, the Tasmania Gas Pipeline was one of the most complex projects recently developed, involving the crossing of 11 rivers. The longest crossing was 2,046 m overall and reached 86 m below the surface of the Tamar River.

After 20 years, Mr Cox has found himself once again working on the SWQP, completing the design of current owner and operator Epic Energy’s pipeline expansion project, dubbed QSN 3. The project incorporates the looping of the SWQP and the QSN Link Pipeline. When completed in 2012, the expansion is expected to increase the pipeline’s capacity from approximately 168 TJ/d to in excess of 380 TJ/d.

Increased esteem: international respect for Australian pipeliners

Mr Cox’s involvement with the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) began at the urging of Bruce Andrews, who was President of the Association from 1997–98.

“When I took over from Bruce as the manager of the WorleyParsons pipeline group in Australia, I also became the APIA representative. Bruce had held a seat on the Board for many years and I felt strongly that I should continue the tradition and support APIA at Board level. It requires a significant commitment of time and effort but I think the rewards more than compensate for the effort.”

Mr Cox says that he found his time serving on the APIA Board as both Vice President and Treasurer has been both enriching and challenging.

As President Mr Cox says that a key trend to encourage is the international pipeline community’s growing respect for the technology and expertise of the Australian industry.

“This has been facilitated by a strong tripartite relationship between the APIA Research and Standards Committee (RSC), the European Pipeline Research Group and the Pipeline Research Council International, which saw the Joint Technical Meeting hosted in Australia for the first time in 2007.”

Mr Cox also notes that the success of the newly established Energy Pipelines Co-operative Research Centre (EPCRC)will further Australia’s international reputation through “significantly increasing the level of pipeline research conducted in Australia on the back of Federal Government funding”.

Commenting on Queensland’s burgeoning coal seam gas (CSG) industry, Mr Cox says that increased international interest is set to spark greater competition for pipeline construction activity and contracts.

“We are currently seeing increased interest in the Australian pipeline sector by international pipeline contractors through the large diameter pipeline projects proposed in Queensland to support the emerging CSG to LNG industry.

“This may result in an increased level of competition in the market place but also an increased level of activity in pipeline construction. The domestic gas market has the potential to grow to feed new peak and base-load gas-fired electricity generation that may replace coal as a fuel source and supplement the troughs associated with generation from renewables,” Mr Cox says.

CO2, water pipelines and climate change

Mr Cox believes that APIA will continue to take a leading role to combat climate change.

“We are already beginning to see this with joint research projects proposed by the APIA RSC and Canadian-based research organisations involving leading international project advisers. The current worldwide interest in greenhouse gas emissions is likely to underpin a strong future in the pipeline sector for many years to come.”

With the development of carbon capture and storage technologies, Mr Cox believes that the industry will have a big part to play in reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions as it is likely that pipelines will be required to transport waste greenhouse gases to remote storage or treatment facilities.

“The pipeline industry is definitely on the front foot when it comes to carbon dioxide pipelines. APIA is represented on the Federal Government Carbon Storage Task Force and the pipeline industry has had significant input into the recommendations coming out of this task force.

“Further work is proposed through the EPCRC, which is to analyse what a future network of carbon dioxide pipelines may look like and the barriers to be overcome to achieve this vision in a cost effective manner. This issue is not just an Australian issue, so co-operation around the world is required to meet the challenges of developing carbon dioxide pipelines.”

Mr Cox would like to see Government legislation designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that recognises the role gas can play in making significant short-term reductions in emissions.

“[Government] also needs to recognise that our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation will not change in the short-term, therefore policies that support carbon capture, transportation and storage will be required to further reduce emissions.”

With broader environmental issues such as drought increasing the value of water and water pipelines, Mr Cox has suggested that gas pipeline design and construction practices are likely to be adopted by the water industry.

“The gas pipeline industry has worked hard to be able to deliver large capacity pipelines at a lower cost. It makes sense to apply these practices to the water pipeline industry creating higher pressure water pipelines with fewer pumping stations utilising fully welded construction techniques.

“Climate change is driving the need for water pipelines to be built. APIA needs to stay a step ahead of these changes and stay relevant to its members. Anticipating some of these changes and being a key input to the debate and policy that results are the major challenges facing APIA.”

Innovating safety standards

Mr Cox believes that the Australian pipeline industry has come a long way in improving its safety standards, but believes more work needs to be done. As a member of the selection panel for the annual APIA Safety Awards, he has been witness to significant innovation and effort towards safety.

“The RSC is currently looking at how well our safety management process defined in AS2885 stacks up against international practices. This may result in ideas to enhance our current practices from a design perspective.”

He notes that pipeline management plans and maintenance management programs in Australia are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their use of software, often on a GIS platform allowing accessibility through the internet for people in the field and the office.

“The use of risk directed asset management principles is helping to ensure that maintenance and remedial work is directed to where it is needed at the same time as reducing the overall cost of operating pipelines. The recent research conducted through the APIA RSC on stress corrosion cracking is having a significant positive impact on the safety and reliability of certain Australian pipelines.”

Fostering the industry’s future

He also believes that the initiation of a pipeline engineering training program (see page 118) and the formation of a CSG working group to create a code of practice for high density polyethylene gathering systems, have been further significant achievements for the industry to date.

However, Mr Cox notes that the industry continues to face the challenge of recovering from the 2009 global economic downturn, and the need to address a shortage of skilled pipeline engineers in the future.

“The challenge imposed on many businesses [associated] with the pipeline industry by the worldwide economic downturn has been weathered remarkably well as a whole. We need to continue to attract young and talented people to pipelines by getting them involved in the broader aspects of the industry and providing training and career guidance.

“As the industry grows and our pipelines approach the end of their design life, there will also be a need to replace and supplement the senior leaders in our industry as they retire. Attracting expertise from overseas will be part of the solution,” Mr Cox says.

For Mr Cox, the most enjoyable aspect of the pipeline industry continues to be working with its people, which he finds is an “absolute pleasure to be involved with so many dedicated players committed to the industry over and above their commitment to their employers”.