Pipeline Operations Group

While many operating companies within the oil and gas sector are in competition with one another at a commercial level, one thing they all agree on is the need to continually collaborate with one another when it comes to the safe and efficient operation of our energy pipelines.

Commercial issues are left at the door so that POG members can share real-world experiences of government regulation, safety and environmental concerns, equipment performance, even people issues associated with working in remote locations.

POG also has a dedicated session at the APGA Annual Convention. The POG committee meets formally twice a year on the day before or after the POG Seminar and on the day after the Convention.

Key priorities for POG include its line-by-line review of changes to the Australian Standard 2885, convening the POG Seminar, sharing Company activity reports and management of the Pipeline Incident Database – a record of incident and near miss events in which pipelines have been damaged or threatened, which operators have been contributing to since the 1970s. The database is accessible only by members of POG. It is accessible via the link in the resources at the bottom of this page.

Sub-committees are being established to manage the introduction of renewable gases into transmission pipelines and to reduce emissions from pipelines.

• Establishing and managing the Pipeline Incident Database as a strategic management tool for the future of the pipeline industry. In 2013 the Group introduced an online incident reporting system to make it easier and more efficient for members to report incident and near miss events. The purpose of the database is to collate an Australian and New Zealand relevant set of incident and near miss event data that can be used to inform risk assessment processes such as Safety Management Studies. Conclusions drawn from the data may be used for a variety of purposes such as identifying key vulnerabilities, identifying the most effective pipe protection measures, demonstrating to regulators and other stakeholders that pipeline transportation is safe and providing a basis for future revisions of AS 2885.
• Establishing the Encroachment Activity Subcommittee with the aim to improve consistency of responses from operators for Before You Dig Australia enquiries and Condition Of Works documentation.
• The Seminar Subcommittee organises the selection of presentations covering critical and emerging pipeline and maintenance areas of interest for both the Annual POG Seminar and the POG session of the Annual Convention.
• Establishment of the POG Gas Industry Safety Awareness Sub-Committee which produced an industry emergency response video that is used for educating emergency services and stakeholders on appropriate response during a pipeline emergency.
• Establishing the Rotating Plant Subcommittee to share ideas on safety, cost-management and power output issues associated with rotating plant. It also provides a further network for operators who experience rotating plant failure to share equipment or spare parts with other companies in an emergency. This is a critical part of maintaining the gas supply chain in an emergency.
• Organising Pipeline Controller Forums which brought together control room staff from operating companies to share information about better operations, better use of technology and developing a benchmark for control room operations.