Finalists Announced for Australian Gas Innovation Awards

From a restoration system for offshore blowout accidents to a cryogenic insulation material for LNG applications, some of the leading innovations in Australia’s fast-growing gas industry have been recognised in the Australian Gas Innovation Awards.

Organisers today announced the six finalists for the major new awards program, being held as part of the Australian Gas Technology Conference & Exhibition(AGT) in Perth from 25-27 July 2012.

Heralding the scope of innovation taking place in the LNG and wider gas industry, the awards include a commercial category for innovations developed by Australian companies and a research category recognising innovators from Australia’s research facilities.

Western Australia’s leading universities dominate the research category with Dr Xianhua Liu, a Research Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia and lecturer at Curtin University, named a finalist for his rapid kill and restoration system for blowout wells.

A reliable solution for oil and gas well blowout accidents, Dr Liu’s system releases heavy solid balls to quickly suppress and reduce the blowout flow, stopping the oil and gas pollution to land, air and sea and allowing time for repair or replacement of the blowout preventer and pipelines.

Also among the research award finalists are Curtin University’s Reza Rezaee and the University of Western Australia’s Bassem Samir Youssef.

An Associate Professor for Curtin’s Department of Petroleum Engineering, Rezaee’s research study is designed to persuade a new remedial process for tight gas reservoirs that could eventually result in trillions of cubic feet of gas being added to Western Australia’s shrinking natural gas resources.

Youssef was recognised for his unique pipeline on-bottom stability simulation program, developed as part of his PhD study at UWA, which provides pipeline engineers with a reliable and accurate pipeline design tool capable of a 3D simulation of offshore pipelines under the action of wave and current loading.

Finalists in the commercial category of the Australian Gas Innovation Awards include Cetra Technologies Pty Ltd for Cetrafoam, an environmentally friendly cryogenic insulation material specifically formulated for use in LNG applications.

Simpler, quicker and easier to install than conventional foam insulation, Cetrafoam is designed to reduce waste by over 90%, saving over ten thousand cubic metres of waste insulation generated from the cutting operations, being buried as landfill.

Also up for the commercial award is pipeline installation company Murphy Pipe and Civil and Perth-based Integrated Energy.

Murphy Pipe and Civil has developed a purpose-built plough for upstream gas gathering pipeline installation, which does not disturb subterranean soils, requires no open trenching and can perform installation up to five times faster than conventional methods within a narrower construction corridor.

Integrated Energy has been consulting to major Australian energy and resource companies to design an innovative integrated operations model to enable monitoring and control from Perth of large-scale offshore and onshore production facilities in the north of the state.

The design has some distinct elements and features to distinguish it from other operations centres around the world, including innovative ‘immersion pods’ which allow users to visit a site virtually from a real-time, first-person perspective, drawing information from 3D sources.

AGT Event Director, Bill Hare said the six finalists represented the innovation excellence driving Australia’s $200 billion LNG industry and the wider gas industry.

“Australia is poised to become the world’s leading LNG exporter by 2020 and this growth is inspiring an incredible range of innovative products, projects and technologies. The Australian Gas Innovation Awards are an opportunity to profile and acknowledge these people and companies with a commitment to fostering change within the Australian gas industry,” said Mr Hare.

Finalistswill be judged on a number of key criteria, assessing the originality, impact and practicality of the innovation, with the winners to be announced at the Australian Gas Technology Awards Dinner at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on 26 July.

For tickets to awards dinner or more information on the Australian Gas Innovation Awards visit: www.australiangastechnology.com.au

ABOUT AGT 2012

Australian Gas Technology (AGT) is a unique new event for Australia’s gas industry, encompassing an exhibition, conference, innovation awards and a strong focus on careers in the gas industry. Launched by the organisers of the Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition & Conference (AOG), the event will explore Australia’s 200 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry with a particular emphasis on gas processing and construction, the operation of LNG facilities and associated pipelines and exporting terminals. AGT is expected to bring up to 150 exhibitors and 3500 visitors to Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from 25-27 July 2012. Further information: www.australiangastechnology.com.au