Building a world-class Australian decommissioning industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kym Bills
Keyword(s):  
Science Research ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Marine Science ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
North West ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
World Class ◽  
The University

Collaboration in decommissioning offshore infrastructure could save both industry and taxpayers billions of dollars and facilitate new industries and exports for Australia, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. At the end of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant construction boom, Australia must not miss out on this major new opportunity. The 2017 bid for Commonwealth funding to establish a Decommissioning Offshore Infrastructure Cooperative Research Centre (DOI-CRC) involved more than 30 participants and many other collaborators. High-level commitments were made by Chevron, Woodside, Shell, BHP, ExxonMobil, Quadrant, The University of Western Australia, Curtin University, the University of New South Wales, Deakin University, Australian Maritime College, CSIRO and Australian Institute of Marine Science. A Perth-based DOI-CRC was supported by National Energy Resources Australia, National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority and other Australian Government bodies and by the Western Australian Government and its Chief Scientist and agencies but did not receive sufficient support from the CRC Advisory Committee. Meeting decommissioning challenges in the North West Shelf, Bass Strait and the Northern Territory in a timely, robust, scientific, efficient and cost-effective manner that contributes to a sustainable marine environment should draw upon and augment international best practice with local capability and expertise. Good science and innovative engineering are needed to support regulatory approval of options such as ‘rigs to reefs’ and commercial opportunities such as in waste management and expanded fishing and tourism. APPEA and operators wish to maintain DOI-CRC’s momentum and learn from UK research arrangements through funding marine science projects. But we must be much broader if we are to build a sustainable world-class Australian decommissioning industry. In particular, we need to work more closely with state and federal regulators and policymakers and undertake more engineering science research and innovation.

Appraisal of Changes in Watercourse Quality as a Result of Sewer Reconstruction

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 213-221
Author(s):  
A. D. Parkinson ◽  
P. S. Davis ◽  
A. J. Saul
Keyword(s):  
Computer Modelling ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Combined Sewer Overflows ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
North West ◽  
Combined Sewer ◽  
First Results ◽  
The University ◽  
University Of Manchester

Major sewerage work in Littleborough near Rochdale in North West England resulted in the closure of eight Combined Sewer Overflows and the construction of a new overflow incorporating downstream storage. The paper describes the method, named the CARP procedure, used in setting the frequency and volume of discharge from the new overflow and, therefore, the size of the tank. The effect of the resewerage work on the River Roch is being studied as a collaborative exercise involving the University of Manchester, Water Research Centre and North West Water. This is part of the River Basin Management Programme of the Water Industry of England and Wales (Clifforde et al, 1986). First results indicate that the tank will not operate as frequently as predicted by computer modelling. The discharge from the new Combined Sewer Overflow would not appear to significantly effect the river. This is to be confirmed by further fieldwork.

Stockholm Agreement—Past, Present, Future (Part 1)

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (03) ◽  
pp. 137-158
Author(s):  
Dracos Vassalos ◽  
Apostolos Papanikolaou
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
New Developments ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The Status ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The University ◽  
North And South ◽  
South Of Europe

April 1, 2001 marked the fourth anniversary of the Stockholm Agreement (SA), a period during which almost 80% of the roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) fleet in North West Europe have been subjected to calculations, model testing and numerical simulations in the struggle to meet these demanding new requirements. The experience gained has been invaluable in understanding better the problem at hand and is being utilized to shape new developments likely to lead to more meaningful requirements. The North-South divide, however, continues to cause unrest, particularly at the European level. Efforts to assess the status quo in North West Europe, and to use the information amassed so far as a means to predict the potential impact of introducing the SA in the South, led to a dedicated call by the Commission and to a contract being awarded to two closely collaborating teams, one at the Ship Stability Research Centre of the University of Strathclyde under the leadership of Professor Vassalos and one at the Ship Design Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens, under the leadership of Professor Papanikolaou, representing the North and South of Europe, respectively. This background provided the incentive for an introspective look at the SA, with a view to ascertaining its status before embarking into future projections. This forms Part 1 of the SA related research with Part 2 aiming to cover the results of the Commission study itself.

25th Australasian Polymer Symposium Special Issue

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. P. Davis ◽  
J. P. A. Heuts
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Radical Polymerization ◽  
Summer School ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
Polymer Colloids ◽  
Joint Workshop ◽  
The University

In February 2001 the 25th Australasian Polymer Symposium was held at the University of New England in Armidale and was attended by over 200 Australasian and international scientists; about a third of these were registered as students. Preceding the conference, a well-attended joint workshop/summer school with the theme of radical polymerization was convened in association with the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers (CRC-P) and the ARC Key Centre for Polymer Colloids (KCPC).

IMPROVING THE OPERABILITY OF REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLES

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
A.J. Woods ◽  
J.D. Penrose ◽  
A.J. Duncan ◽  
R. Koch ◽  
D. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Vision System ◽  
Control Process ◽  
Inertial System ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Stereoscopic Display ◽  
Remotely Operated Vehicles ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
North West ◽  
The North

Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's) have a significant support role to play in offshore petroleum production facilities. The extent to which ROVs can replace diver-based operations depends significantly on ROV capacity and the relative costs of mobilising and implementing the two modes of underwater operation. This paper presents work directed at two aspects of ROV operability: the quality of visual information presented to the ROV pilots and the degree of station keeping control exhibited by the vehicle.Significant improvement in pilot performance of selected maintenance-type tasks has been achieved by the use of a purpose built underwater stereoscopic video camera and associated ship-based stereoscopic display unit. Two generations of cameras have now been built and used on a Perry Triton vehicle in use at the North Rankin A platform on the North West Shelf.In a related program, stereoscopic images of the platform structure are processed to determine the relative position of the ROV. Changes in position are used as inputs to thruster control algorithms, with a view to enabling the vehicle to hold position in fluctuating current fields. The position data from the processed 3D images are linked to output from an on-board inertial system to enable position to be maintained despite periodic loss of visual information.First trials of the combined vision-inertial system indicated some success, notably using the vision system, but indicated difficulties with the inertial package and its integration into the control process. An extension of this project is now being supported by the Australian Maritime Engineering Cooperative Research Centre (AMECRC).

A sustainable future for the Australian rangelands

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Rangeland Management ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
Graduate Courses ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Sustainable Future ◽  
Feral Animals ◽  
The University ◽  
Business As Usual

This paper proposes a broad overview of possible responses to the challenges posed by rangelands to promote discussion on a sustainable future for these vast regions. Rangelands Australia, an organisational unit of the University of Queensland, which promotes and delivers post graduate courses in rangeland management, assesses these challenges as managing the landscapes sustainably; supporting viability for pastoralists, tourism operators and miners; and maintaining benefits to our communities. It describes the desirable triple bottom line as profitable enterprises, healthy landscapes and vibrant communities. While there may be general agreement on these challenges and objectives, how we as a nation – and we as land managers specifically – meet them is the subject of intense debate. What is clear is that we can no longer maintain a ‘business-as-usual’ approach. We are all familiar with the effects of salinity and erosion and the impacts of feral animals and weed species. We understand the need for business in the rangelands to think smart about the environment, about markets and about communities and get smart or go under. We know that we have to do things differently or our rangeland communities will wither away as businesses fail and young people leave the bush due to lack of meaningful opportunity where they have grown up. The experiences and observations of the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre and the new Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation complement and bring together existing strands of activity across jurisdictions and disciplines. This synthesis of understanding offers some insights in how to conceptualise the future and act on the vision for a sustainable future for these extensive areas.

WELL-BORE INSTABILITY IN THE NORTH WEST SHELF OF AUSTRALIA

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
C.P. Tan ◽  
D.R. Willoughby ◽  
R.R. Hillis ◽  
S. Zhou ◽  
H-B Mühlhaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Centre ◽  
Well Bore ◽  
Cooperative Research ◽  
Stress Regime ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
In Situ Stresses ◽  
Stress Changes ◽  
Contour Plots

Well-bore instability, experienced mainly in shales, has resulted in significant drilling delays and abandonment of wells in the North West Shelf of Australia. Although these problems may be induced by physico-chemical interactions, there is an increasing awareness that instability in this region is principally associated with in situ stresses that are high relative to the strength of the materials.This paper describes the research undertaken by the Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre to assist industry in understanding and managing stress-induced well-bore instability in this region. To conduct such stability analyses the basic information required includes knowledge of the orientation and magnitude of the principal in situ stresses and the strength and deformation response of the materials to stress changes imposed by drilling. The required data can be determined using welllogging, analytical and laboratory techniques.Analytical methods can be used to examine the relationship between well-bore stability and changes introduced through drilling. Spreadsheets based on the analytical methods have been produced and applied to the assessment of drilling alternatives and/or design of some well-bores in the North West Shelf.The application of the critical mud weight contour plots and mud weight stability profiles produced by the spreadsheets in assessing drilling alternatives, selection of optimum well-bore alignment and mud weight design are demonstrated through examples. The analyses showed that counter to intuitive expectations, an inclined well may be more stable than a vertical well depending on the well-bore direction, deviation angle and stress regime.

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