Pipeline Engineer Registration
Oil and gas pipeline engineering is available as an area of practice on the National Engineering Register (NER).
Engineers play a key role in our society and economy. Ensuring that engineers who work in the oil and gas sector are appropriately qualified and that they have the knowledge, experience and expertise required is essential to ensure Australia continues to build and operate its transmission pipelines safely, sustainably and efficiently. The ability to clearly recognise competent pipeline engineers is an important part of ensuring the safety of oil and gas pipelines.
Pipeline engineering is multidisciplinary, drawing on a broad range of general disciplines, including civil, chemical, mechanical and structural engineering. With the exception of Queensland, engineering is a self-regulating profession in Australia. Recognising the key role that registration can play in ensuring that standards are nationally protected and understood, and that the profession is portable, APGA has worked with the National Engineering Register (NER) to establish Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineering as an area of practice. This means that appropriately qualified and experienced pipeline engineers (those who already hold CPEng) whose competency is verified can apply to become registered in this area of practice in addition to their general area of practice, such as mechanical or civil engineering, or they can become Chartered in the area of practice of oil and gas pipeline engineering.
The APGA Board has expressed its endorsement of pipeline engineers gaining Chartered status in Oil & Gas Pipeline Engineering.
Find a registered Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineer
You can find a Chartered Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineer by searching Engineers Australia’s National Engineering Register. Follow the link then choose Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineer from the list of areas of practice. The search feature enables the creation of a list of Chartered Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineers.
Assessment to become registered as an Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineer
The criteria and application requirements for CPEng in oil and Gas Pipeline Engineering are set and maintained by a Competency Panel of senior pipeline engineers and related professionals from across the major sectors of the industry. These are set out in an Application Guideline available from Engineers Australia.
Applications are assessed by an Engineers Australia assessor supported by a member of the Oil & Gas Pipeline Engineering Assessment Panel, which is made up of experienced current practitioners and has been established by the Engineers Australia and APGA. Assessment is based on the criteria set out in the Application Guideline, which apply APGA’s Pipeline Engineer Competency Standards.
Achieving the competencies to demonstrate the required breadth and depth of knowledge, experience and expertise is expected to take some time. APGA has designed two templates that act as the application for Oil & Gas Pipeline Engineering and are aligned to reflect two of Engineers Australia’s pathways to CPEng:
- the standard pathway for engineers with less that 15 years’ experience seeking Chartered status in Oil & Gas Pipeline Engineering, APGA’s portfolio template which enables pipeline engineers to record their knowledge and experience in detail and have it verified.
- the CV and Interview (CVI) pathway for engineers with 15+ years’ experience, APGA’s competency summary template, which does not require the extensive information required by the portfolio.
In each case, the engineer will also need to attach a detailed CV that has been verified. The Competency Portfolio and Competency Summary can be downloaded from APGA’s website here
Charter in Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineering is open to engineers who have already charter as a professional engineer in another area of practice, such as mechanical, civil, or chemical engineering.
Charter in Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineering is open to engineers who have already charter as a professional engineer in another area of practice, such as mechanical, civil, or chemical engineering.
How to become a Chartered Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineer
How to become a Chartered Oil and Gas Pipeline Engineer
The eligibility and application requirements for Charter in the Oil & Gas Pipeline Engineering area of practice are set out Application Guideline available from Engineers Australia, or my emailing APGA at apga@apga.org.au.
For engineers with less than 15 years’ experience Engineers Australia’s standard partway is available. The steps to take in applying the standard pathway are:
- Download the Application Guideline fort Oil & Gas Pipeline Engineering for Engineers Australia’s website
- Download the Competency Portfolio template from APGA’s website
- If you or your employer are an APGA member, contact the APGA secretariat to obtain and logon to the APGA x-info database where the PECS is held
- If you or your employer are not a member of the APGA contact APGA about getting a temporary licence to access the x-info database for 6 months. The licence fee Is $100
- If you don’t already have a Competency Portfolio complete the Portfolio consulting the competency standards on APGA’s PECS x-info database. You are not required to have your individual competencies verified, but you can aggregate your verifications and arrange for two verifiers.
- The remaining steps are found on Engineers Australia’s website.
For engineers with 15+ years’ experience the CVI pathway is available.
The steps to take in applying the standard pathway are:
- Download the Application Guideline fort Oil & Gas Pipeline Engineering for Engineers Australia’s website
- Download the Competency Summary template from APGA’s website
- If you or your employer are an APGA member, contact the APGA secretariat to obtain and logon to the APGA x-info database where the PECS is held
- If you or your employer are not a member of the APGA contact APGA about getting a temporary licence to access the x-info database for 6 months. The licence fee Is $10
- Complete the Competency Summary and arrange for it to be verified by two verifiers
- The remaining steps are found on Engineers Australia’s website
- If you have questions about gaining Chartered in Oil & Gas Pipeline Engineering, check the FAQs first. If you don’t find the answer to your question, email APGA.