Question On Notice No. 1454 asked in the Legislative Council on 14 August 2018 by Hon Robin Chapple
Question Directed to the: Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Mines and Petroleum
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to the technical problems with seals and corrosion issues in the the infrastructure that have delayed CO2 storage at the Gorgon gas plant, and I ask:
(a) what caused the technical problems with seals and corrosion issues;
(b) was a sub system installed prior to the technical problems;
(c) has a sub system been installed since the technical problems;
(d) were the issues caused by a cleaning injecting system or something similar;
(e) were the issues caused by old water pipes
and systems designed to be temporary with a four year life span that are now six years old;
(f) how many incidents of bursts and leaks have occurred over the life of the project, please list year and incident;
(g) have there been any incidents with the main fire safety system;
(h) have any of the fire pumps caught on fire;
(i) have there been any fires caused by the heat insulation being worn; and
(j) have there been any fires caused by the overheating and/or overheating of the sound insulation?
Answered on 11 September 2018
(a) A number of construction issues were identified by Chevron during the normal pre-commissioning / pre start up checks prior to planned start up in 2017. Isolation valves in the pipeline and at the CO2 injection well centres were found to be passing and needed either refurbishment or replacement, Small-bore valves located on the pipeline pig launcher and receiver were found to not meet the relevant corrosion standards and required replacement. The main CO2 header, pipeline and drill centres were identified as having low points where water could potentially accumulate causing corrosion issues. All of these issues needed to be addressed prior to start-up of CO2 injection to ensure the long-term operation of the CO2 injection system over the planned life of the Gorgon Project.
(b) No, the issues in (a) were identified as part of normal pre-commissioning checks prior to start up.
(c) The identified valves that did not meet the required isolation or corrosion standard specifications are being refurbished or replaced and any low points eliminated.
(d) - (e) No
(f) None that DMIRS is aware of.
(g) - (j) No