CA002 Pipeline capital cost estimation

Competency ID and title	CA002 Pipeline capital cost estimation
Competency area	Commercial aspects
Stream/s	Design, Construction	Level	Elective

Competency descriptor
This competency requires a pipeline engineer to have a thorough knowledge of the range of methods for estimating the capital cost of pipelines and associated stations and the capacity to apply them.

Competency application
This competency enables a pipeline engineer to estimate the capital cost of a pipeline design and construction project within a known estimate tolerance range.

Prerequisites

Required
DP002 – Onshore pipeline design fundamentals
DS001 – Station design fundamentals
EA001 – Right of way acquisition and management fundamentals
RE001 – Route engineering fundamentals
CE001 – Fundamentals of construction engineering and management
HC001 – Hydrotest, commissioning and preparation for operation fundamentals

Desirable
IC001 – Instruments and control fundamentals
CC001 – Corrosion control fundamentals
EH001 – Environment and heritage fundamentals
W001 – Welding fundamentals

Competency elements

Element type	Element description
Knowledge	Estimation methodologies and associated tolerances such as the Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) estimate classes and methodologies, including: unit rates ($/in/km) factored estimates detailed unit cost estimates sources of current and forecast market rates trade-off studies – capital purchase versus lease hire, etc.
	Estimating the various phases of a pipeline’s development, such as concept, FEED and detailed design stages including: route selection and survey environmental, cultural and heritage studies stakeholder engagement including native title engineering design licence and regulatory approvals.
	Understand and estimate the various project management and procurement resource costs throughout the project development cycle.
	Right-of-way and station acquisition cost (as appropriate to the level of the estimate methodology): property type compensation types pre-construction access construction access easement compensation station site purchase compensation rates.
	Materials costs (as appropriate to the level of the estimate methodology): line pipe (standard, heavy wall etc), coating, inspection and transportation induction bends valves – MLVs, branch valves, scraper valves, bypass valves, operators fittings – closures, vents…. CP – anodes, test points, cable, power supplies pipeline markers – paddock, aerial instrumentation and SCADA electrical and power supplies civil structural.
	Construction project management and supervision costs.
	Construction logistics costs (as appropriate to the level of the estimate methodology): storage transportation and freight storage and warehousing mobilisation and demobilisation including work roster management camp accommodation, quartering and catering fly-in/fly-out.
	Construction direct cost (as appropriate to the level of the estimate methodology): spread phases – crew sizes, unit rates labour equipment materials and consumables fuel and lubricants small hand tools impact of terrain types of each phase.
	Special construction types and costs (as appropriate to the level of the estimate methodology): rock open cut crossings major waterway and estuarine crossings trenchless – HDD, bored, etc buoyancy control.
	Station cost estimation (as appropriate to the level of the estimate methodology): engineering, project management and procurement major equipment main disciplines process / chemical civil/structural mechanical – piping, welding electrical – power and lighting instrumentation and control.
	Owner’s team costs: project management engineering procurement commercial, legal, insurance etc others as applicable.
	Contingency applicable to the type / class of estimate, including: scope miscellaneous items risk items such as – weather, rock and geotechnical, stakeholder etc.
Experience	Member of a team performing cost estimation for one large or medium pipeline or three small pipelines.
Expertise	Identifies the appropriate cost estimation methodology and tolerance range for the required purpose.
Expertise	Undertakes, oversees or coordinates the preparation of a pipeline capital cost estimate.

Resulting capabilities of competency
Capable of taking responsibility for estimation of the capital cost of a pipeline, including coordinating and overseeing contributors to elements of the cost estimate.