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Customer: APA Group Location: Western Australia Contract: Construct Only
 
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Fast Facts
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McConnell Dowell was engaged by APA Group to construct the Lake Way Gas Pipeline (LWP) and the Karlawinda Gas Pipeline (KGP) projects in Western Australia.
The LWP pipeline is located 15 kilometres south of Wiluna and transports natural gas from APA’s Goldfields Gas Pipeline (GGP) to SO4’s Lake Way facility. SO4 aims to become a major exporter of Sulphate of Potash and the LWP pipeline provides gas for fuelling power generating facilities and other equipment within their process plant.
McConnell Dowell’s work scope consisted of a 26 kilometre DN100 high pressure gas pipeline, which was installed in an easement running westwards from the GGP.
The KGP pipeline is located 60 kilometres south of Newman in Western Australia. It transports natural gas from APA’s Goldfields Gas Pipeline (GGP) to the Karlawinda Gold Project for the purposes of fuelling gas fired power generating facilities and providing gas to the Capricorn Metals owned gold mine.
McConnell Dowell’s work scope consists of a 56 kilometre DN100 high pressure gas pipeline, which was installed in an easement running eastwards from the GGP.
Both of these projects follow on from the 13 kilometre DN300 Murrin Murrin Looping Pipeline, also delivered for APA.
Both pipelines were constructed safely, environmentally and quality compliant and met the requirements of all relevant Australian and International Standards and Codes.
Some of the challenges faced included:
- Commencing the project during the COVID-19 pandemic period
- Lack of specialised pipeline personnel due to border closures
- Working within an operational mine site
- Navigating the works through the northern wet season
- Very hard ground conditions with significantly rocky areas.
Work Health & Safety Initiatives
The construction of Lake Way and Karlawinda Pipelines continued the culture of safe construction by McConnell Dowell:
- More than 60,000 manhours worked in a 4 ½ month period with a Total Recordable Frequency Rate of zero, no Medical Treatments or Lost Time Injuries
- More than 6,800, 12m long pipe joint movements with no dropped pipe.
Environmental Initiatives
Both projects had specific fauna management conditions that needed to be adhered to and tracked during the course of the project.
Over 4,000 safe capture and release of fauna that had become trapped in the pipeline open trench.
Fauna mortalities achieved a rate of less than 3%.
Construction
The project achieved a weld repair rate of less than 1% and successfully used Computerised Radiography, a method that McConnell Dowell has used a number of times on previous projects.
