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Exploration & Production: The Oil & Gas Review - 2003, Volume 2
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Global Net working and Collaboration
Looking outside Australia, pipelines are clearly an international business now. In a shrinking world, isolation is neither desirable, nor is it even an option. Overseas-based companies engage at all levels in the Australian natural gas industry and, increasingly, Australian-based companies, such as engineering and construction firms, and directional drilling specialists and engineers are winning business outside Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region. These players are wellknown to the International Pipe Line and Offshore Contractors Association (IPLOCA).
There are considerable challenges and opportunities internationally and an open dialogue and common positioning will support the way each nation meets those challenges.
An example of the appropriateness of increased international alliances is the growing situation where economic regulators are themselves seeking international forums and collaboration. Australia’s economic regulators are members of groups such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Society of Consumer and Competition Officials (ISCCO) and the International Competition Network (ICN), which is the only international body devoted exclusively to competition law enforcement. This latter organisation, among other objectives, seeks to encourage convergence in national competition policies towards best practice standards. Certainly, these forums have to address real multi-jurisdictional issues: however, the global community of pipeliners must develop a voice in such forums to ensure that industry concerns are not lost to the pursuit of the theoretical ‘best practice’ regulation.
Engineering is an applied science. Regulation should be applied common sense, but it has been found in Australia that ‘economic theory’ dominates regulatory practice. It is not a science, but a philosophy and the increasing tendency to treat economics as a science is troubling. In the creation of these international economic/regulation ‘thinktanks’, a pool of people dedicated to reinforcing an international economic philosophy could be created. History tells us that the prevailing economic wisdom at any point in time is transitory.
Conclusions
International co-operation is desirable for challenging interventionist regulators, removing impediments to developments and, through co-operation across the industry chain, progressing research and achieving new standards of excellence in technical performance, safety and environmental management. For Australia, co-operation in research is very important – we are simply not resourced to finance research on the scale on which larger nations are able to. However, the work that has been done demonstrates that Australia’s in-kind contribution and specific research programmes can be of considerable benefit.
Innovation, breakthrough thinking, new alliances, open dialogue and new levels of tolerance and co-operation must be the hallmarks of a new, credible and vibrant international pipeline community, and the Australian pipeline industry sees immense value in working with the world pipeline community towards the realisation of this vision.
There is clear value in the whole-of-industry perspective. APIA has had important wins in its lobbying activities, establishment of technical standards, the Environmental Code and in R&D, although there is always more to be done than there are resources available – hence the importance of co-operation and information sharing. Many of APIA’s successes have benefited from collaboration between components of the supply chain.
We are delighted that the fledgling World Federation of Pipeline Industry Associations is looking at our industry model and considering whether the co-operation on which this model is based might be a useful example for other national organisations, or indeed international organisations.
While Australia’s gas transmission industry is relatively young, the industry has experienced dramatic changes over the past decade. Many companies have acquired the skills, experience and determination to compete in the international marketplace as design engineers, developers, contractors and suppliers of products and experience. It is worth considering whether common interests internationally are so great that we can work together on the basis of those commonalities. APIA will continue to look for opportunities to share knowledge and collaborate in ways that build the profile of pipelines.
Category:
Transportation
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James K McDonald is President of the
Australian Pipeline Industry Association
(APIA), a member of APIA's Pipeline
Owners Committee and has served
as Chairman of the Environmental
Affairs Committee of APIA. He was
appointed Executive Director of the
Australian Pipeline Trust in June
2002, which he joined from The
Australian Gas Light Company (AGL).
Prior to his roles with AGL, he
spent 15 years with Esso Australia's
Gippsland Production Group. He is a
Fellow of the Australian Institute of
Company Directors and he has served
as a member of the Board of the
Australian Gas Association and The
Australian Council for Infrastructure
Development. Mr McDonald is a past
Chairman of the Gas Transmission
Committee of AGA.
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Dr Allen Beasley was appointed
Executive Director of APIA in January
1999. He has more than 20 years of
experience in the energy sector and
was involved in gas reform issues in
the UK and Australia during the 1990s,
including the sale of the Moomba-
Sydney Pipeline and gas reform
initiatives developed through the
Council of Australian Governments. Dr
Beasley is a science graduate and
holds a PhD in Chemistry.
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