Australia: APLNG Awards Pipe Contract to Vinidex

Australia Pacific LNG has awarded Brisbane based pipe systems manufacturer Vinidex Pty Ltd a multi-million dollar contract to supply the high-density polyethylene plastic pipe (HDPE) requirement for its CSG to LNG project.

As part of the contract, Vinidex will supply more than 3200km of HDPE interconnecting pipe to transport gas and water extracted from CSG production wells located in the Surat and Bowen basins.

Australia Pacific LNG Chief Executive Officer, Page Maxson said he was pleased to award a Brisbane-based company with such an important contract.

“The HDPE pipe is a key component of the Project which will transport gas and water from its source to treatment plants and the main Australia Pacific LNG Project pipeline,” said Mr Maxson.

“We’ve worked hard to ensure local businesses have every opportunity to participate where possible. Vinidex is now one of a growing number of home grown companies contributing to the delivery of this major project.”

As a leading Australian pipe manufacturer, Vinidex has the experience in delivering large quantities of pipe for major infrastructure projects. It is expected to increase its workforce by up to 50 people to meet peak construction demands and also intends to build a new state of the art manufacturing facility on 80,000 m2 of land in Toowoomba to service this contract and the growing coal seam gas and mining industries.

Vinidex Chief Executive Officer Marian Johnston thanked Australia Pacific LNG for the opportunity and said the company was honoured to be chosen as the major supplier to a project of such magnitude. Given this project has a life expectancy in excess of twenty years Vinidex looks forward to forging a long term successful partnership with APLNG.

“This contract is not only good news for Vinidex but also for regional Queensland. Building a new manufacturing facility involves significant investment and will generate a number of local jobs during the construction phase,” said Mr Johnston.

“Apart from the direct jobs Vinidex will create to operate this facility there will also be opportunities for local businesses to support this operation through the provision of transport, general services and maintenance.”

High-density polyethylene plastic pipe is used extensively in Australia and across the globe in large scale infrastructure projects particularly in the water, irrigation, mining, and oil and gas industries because of its high durability and corrosion resistance.

Australia Pacific LNG expects to start ordering HDPE pipe later this year with the first shipment of pipe destined for the Condabri Central development area south of Miles and then delivered progressively to other gas field sites.

Australia Pacific LNG is a joint venture project between Origin, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec that includes development of existing coal seam gas fields in the Surat and Bowen basins and construction of a gas transmission pipeline from the gas fields to an LNG facility to be developed on Curtis Island in Gladstone.

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Source: APLNG, November 8, 2011