Piping hot progress for giant Jemena project

The first lengths of coated line pipe to be used on the Northern Gas Pipeline are rolling out in China, signalling a major project milestone. NGP project director Jonathan Spink said the roll out of the first 19m length of coated line pipe occurred in June, just weeks after the start of production of the 34,000 tonnes of steel needed. “This was a significant milestone for Jemena’s NGP,” Mr Spink said. “It marked an important stage in a long process resulting in a 622km high-pressure gas pipeline which, for the first time, will link the Northern Territory pipeline network with the east coast gas network.” NGP project director Jonathan Spink. The NGP will connect the existing Amadeus Pipeline, near Tennant Creek in the NT, to the Carpentaria Pipeline, at Mount Isa in Queensland. Around 34,000 lengths of high-strength steel line pipe will be provided by supplier MRC Global, with production expected to take around 10 months to complete. The pipe will arrive in four shipments through Darwin to a stockpile location near Tennant Creek, with the first delivery due in the fourth quarter of 2016. Another recent milestone for the project was the order of four Taurus 60 compressor packages from Solar Turbines, which will be installed at Phillip Creek, NT, and Mount Isa. Detailed design for the pipeline and compression facilities has commenced and a number of long-lead procurement packages are out for tender. Jemena said the ICN Gateway portal would be the primary source of opportunities for the NGP project, with about 200 contracts to be listed. A subset of specialist packages will be tendered via Tenderlink. Some work packages have already been awarded and work has commenced in the field on a number of fronts with cultural, environmental, geotechnical and centreline surveys under way. Jemena expects to commence procurement of the remaining long-lead equipment this year, with the first packages expected to include gas treatment equipment, aftercoolers, ball valves, ultrasonic meters, filters and gas engine alternators. Construction subcontract packages and local service expressions of interest to Jemena’s construction contractor McConnell Dowell are starting to be advertised on ICN and will progressively ramp up into early 2017. Mr Spink said Jemena had carried out extensive community and business consultation in Queensland and the Northern Territory, before and after being selected as the project proponent. “Our stakeholders and the communities in which we operate are critical to Jemena’s success and we will continue to engage with them throughout the project,” he said. Cleaning new pipe being manufactured for the Northern Gas Pipeline. Jemena expects that during planning, construction and commissioning, the project will create about 900 jobs. “We will focus on sourcing labour from close to the project area – in the Tennant Creek and Barkly areas of NT and Mount Isa region in western Queensland,” Mr Spink said. “A range of initiatives have been implemented, and are designed to support maximising local outcomes, with a focus on local and Aboriginal businesses and people.” These include a range of pre-employment training and development programs which will be offered by Jemena to ensure locals are skilled up to work on the project. Mr Spink said Jemena had commenced the implementation of a business investment fund to assist small and medium enterprises in the NT and Mount Isa area. “This is designed to build local capability and capacity and assist those businesses to participate in the project,” he said. Construction of the NGP is scheduled to begin in 2017, with completion due in 2018. For work package details visit https://gateway.icn.org.au/project/3680/northern-gas-pipeline-ngp-previously-negi Field surveys are under way in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Piping hot progress for giant Jemena project

Industry Queensland

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