“This 2005 event is being held against a backdrop of unprecedented activity in the pipeline industry, with projects worth more than $6 billion either underway or on drawing boards,” APIA chief executive Cheryl Cartwright said yesterday.
“Our industry is operating in a dynamic environment, with development plans for new pipelines taking place amid a robust debate about the regulation of, and access to, this vital infrastructure.
“Such complex industry issues are compounded by the new security environment in which we find ourselves with the protection of essential infrastructure, like transmission pipelines, high on industry and government agendas.
“At the same time, our industry is facing a shortage of the skilled personnel required to build the nation’s future pipelines.
“We are facing a number of challenges and I am looking forward to hearing how our industry colleagues, government ministers and regulators think these issues might be tackled,” she said.
The 2005 event, “Pipelines – Bridging our Energy Needs”, is APIA’s 37th Annual Convention. It will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 29 October to 1 November.
Cartwright said the Adelaide convention would be a record for APIA, with more than 400 pipeline industry professionals from Australia and overseas already registered to attend.
The exhibition component of the convention would also be a record – 60 booths had already been booked by companies to put their products and services on show.
PNG Gas Pipeline update
Presentations at Monday’s opening session will include a major projects update, covering the PNG Gas Pipeline, the Dampier-to-Bunbury pipeline and the Casino pipeline development.
A paper titled “The PNG Gas Pipeline – bridging PNG and Australia” will be presented by AGL project director, technical, PNG-Queensland Gas Pipeline Gary Voss.
Parliamentary secretary to the federal minister for industry, tourism and resources, Warren Entsch, will open the exhibition at 6pm on Sunday October 30.
The Convention itself will be officially opened on the morning of Monday October 31 with a keynote address by South Australian minister for transport, infrastructure and energy, Patrick Conlon.
Also on Monday, Australian Energy Market Commission chairman Dr John Tamblyn will speak on “The New Economic Regulatory System and the Pipeline Industry”, and Australian Pipeline Trust CEO Mick McCormack will present a paper on “Regulatory Reform from a Pipeline Perspective”.
SE Australia Gas Pty Ltd Manager Operations David Hayter will present “Balancing South East Australia’s Energy Needs – a SEAGas operations perspective”.
