Papua New Guinea: Seabed pipeline survey starts
PostCourier, January 10
A K3.8 million marine survey has begun, to determine the best possible pipeline route for the
PNG to Queensland gas project, proponents of the major gas project announced on Friday.
The announcement was made with a visit to MV Teknik Putra, the vessel contracted to carry
out the marine survey between Papua New Guinea and Australia.
The specialist vessel was to begin work over the weekend when leaving the Port Moresby
wharf on Friday, for the Omati River, west of Kikori and to Cape York. on the north-western tip
of Australia.
The marine survey will determine the best route the gas pipeline can run without running into
surprises between the Omati river to the Torres Strait and on to the Australian mainland.
According to project director for gas commercialisation Dr Moseley Moramoro, the survey is
expected to be completed at the end of March.
He said the survey is a major milestone in the continuing progress of the project.
Speaking from Port Moresby on behalf of the project sponsors, Chevron Niugini's country
manager Isikeli Taureka said he was delighted that the marine survey was underway.
Mr Taureka said another smaller vessel, the Sigma Oct-antis, had already begun surveying the
shallow waters near Cape York and would travel to PNG to carry out the survey in the shallow
waters of the Omati River and out towards the Kumul oil platform.
"The marine survey will cost K3.8 million and both vessels will be permanently set up with the
latest state of the art electronic measuring and computerised recording equipment to map the
seabed topography and seabed strata," Mr Taureka said.
Mr Taureka said the Teknik Putra and Sigma Octantis were dedicated survey vessels whose
capabilities were not available in this country. He said however that where possible, the project
sponsors were committed to engage the services of local businesses and contractors to work on
the project.
Seabed tests of the soil conditions at the proposed location of the $A730 million offshore marine
terminal or gravity structure in the Gulf will also be conducted. The terminal will be where
propane, butane and other liquids will be separated from the gas, before it is piped to markets in
Australia. Both ships are equipped with the latest electronic measuring and computerised
recording equipment to measure both the seabed topography and the sub-surface strata.
The survey will determine the best technical and environmental routing for the seabed pipeline,
which will be laid on and below the sea floor, and is designed to carry gas for 30 years and
more. The survey is a first and is expected to yield valuable knowledge about the subsea
conditions in the Torres Strait and Gulf of Papua.
Officers from the Office of Environment and Conservation and the Department of Petroleum
and Energy boarded the vessel last Friday at the Port Moresby wharf before it sailed to begin
the three month survey.
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