Academic literature on the topic 'Esso Australia ;Longford Plant'

Esso recently commissioned (October 2017) a new 350-mm 187-km-long pipeline for carrying crude and condensate from Esso’s Longford Plant (Longford) in Gippsland Victoria, along an existing easement to the Long Island Point facility (LIP) at Hastings, Victoria. This pipeline replaces an existing 700-mm pipeline that was approaching the end of its operational life. Through continued delivery of crude and condensate, this pipeline also ensures that the natural gas which is produced along with these liquids continues to flow to Australian households and businesses. The project included pig launching and receiving facilities at Longford and LIP terminals, 10 main-line valve stations as well as fibre-optic cable for control, leak detection and communications purposes. Early engagement of its contractor partners played a key role in the successful execution of the project. Today’s landscape along the pipeline route significantly differs from that when the original pipeline was installed. Individual needs of the landowners affected by the construction were carefully considered. Significant measures were taken to minimise any impact to the unique flora and fauna of the region. Sensitivities around cultural heritage locations were taken into account while finalising the construction methods. Construction of the pipeline occurred in two summer phases (2015–2016 and 2016–2017) to make efficient use of dry weather and to minimise disturbance to landowners and the environment. The project was completed within budget and ahead of schedule.

Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd and BHP Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd own a range of offshore and onshore hydrocarbon production facilities, which have been operated by Esso Australia Pty Ltd (Esso) for over 50 years. The Longford Fire Training Ground (FTG) is located adjacent to the Longford Plants and has been utilised by Esso for many years to train personnel in practical hydrocarbon firefighting skills, including applying firefighting foams to extinguish liquid hydrocarbon pool fires. In line with historical standard oil-field practices, per and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) containing firefighting foams were used at the Longford FTG. In response to the reported use of these foams and the potential for contamination associated with historical site operations, the Longford premises were the subject of recent environmental audit and clean-up plans with oversight by an EPA Victoria auditor. Esso engaged a broad range of experts to complete the environmental investigation and develop a remediation action plan that complied with the PFAS National Environmental Management Plan. Key aspects of this project included: understanding the location and setting, with respect to geological conditions and groundwater impacts; development of remediation objectives and strategy; identification of practical remediation methods including short-term and longer-term measures to mitigate priority PFAS sources within the FTG; and a planning framework for future management of the premises. This paper shares how a responsible operator applies a disciplined and scientifically based environmental approach to further the state of knowledge on practical PFAS remediation methods and achieve a sustainable environmental outcome in the communities that they operate in.

Esso Australia Ltd (on behalf of the Esso/BHP joint venture) operates a crude oil and natural gas processing system based on the offshore fields in Bass Strait.Crude oil is discharged from the offshore fields via a 132-km pipeline to the crude stabilization plant at Longford. A 187-km pipeline is then used to transfer stabilized crude to Long Island Point, where the oil is held in storage prior to discharge to Australian refineries and to export.Without the use of drag reducer chemical, Bass Strait crude production is limited by pipeline hydraulic capacity. Since the last quarter of 1983, drag reducer has been injected at both Halibut platform and Longford as required to meet the demand for crude oil. As a result, daily production rates have been increased by more than ten per cent.Drag reducer chemical is a long chain polymer which acts to reduce the extent of turbulence in the flowing oil stream. The chemical is highly viscous, and specifically designed gear pumps are required to achieve satisfactory injection into the pipeline systems.

ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd’s subsidiary, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd (ExxonMobil), is undertaking a refurbishment program on the critical combinaire cooling units at its Longford Gas Plant 1. The combinaires are combination air-cooled heat exchangers with evaporative cooling supported on a large concrete structure. The functions performed include gas treating, inlet gas cooling, distillation reflux and condensate cooling.The Longford combinaire units have already been in operation in excess of 30 years and the facility will be required to operate for many more years, given the significant reserves remaining in Gippsland. The combinaire units provide the central cooling duties in both the Longford crude stabilisation plant and Gas Plant 1. Shutdown of these units has a major impact on the plant processing capacity for both oil and gas. An in-depth understanding of forecast market demand, processing requirements and interaction of the process units throughout the Longford facility has enabled the identification of discrete annual periods when certain sections of the combinaire unit can be brought offline.The refurbishment campaign was developed to systematically refurbish sections of the combinaire unit that were not at full capacity seasonally. Critical to achieving the tight timelines is having timely delivery of refurbished and new components to site. This is being achieved through close collaboration with numerous vendors and initiatives such as setting up a local workshop for tube bundle refurbishment.The combinaire refurbishment campaign is on track to meet the target completion date and continues with minimal impact on Bass Strait production of oil and gas. Success is being achieved through detailed analysis across a range of disciplines and the application of a design-one, build-multiple philosophy. A large and complex project being undertaken whilst keeping the plant going.

Safety is a core value at Esso Australia. We strive to observe the highest standards of safety to ensure that nobody gets hurt in our operations. We believe this goal can be achieved through a broadly shared commitment to personal and process safety—both of which are managed using our operations integrity management system (OIMS). In the Gippsland region of Victoria, Esso Australia operates oil and gas production facilities ranging from sub-sea completions to substantial staffed offshore facilities, an onshore crude stabilisation, three gas processing plants and a natural gas liquids fractionation plant, all interconnected by a network of offshore and onshore pipelines. Every day Esso’s Gippsland operations produce millions of litres of crude oil and millions of cubic meters of natural gas. Having all this fuel energy flowing through these plants each day at high pressures, and widely ranging temperatures, it is imperative that it is safely controlled and contained by the process equipment. How do we do this? With process safety systems. Process safety is a crucial component of OIMS that ensures Esso’s assets are operated and maintained in keeping with corporate and industry safety standards. In this presentation we show how process safety is managed within OIMS and how the people within Esso individually and collectively contribute to it. Our work in this area has recently been captured in a training package that includes a DVD shown at the conference. It was created to raise the awareness and understanding of all Esso employees about the principles that underpin Esso’s approach to process safety. This abstract outlines how we approach process safety across the life-cycle of our facilities and the role people play in managing this very important aspect of our work. Our training reinforces the message that responsibility for effective management of process safety lies with every employee and how OIMS is designed to assist people to achieve the desired results where all risks are appropriately managed. We have sought to connect the concepts used to manage personal safety, which are well understood by the workforce, with those that are needed to understand how to manage process safety.

Esso Australia Pty Ltd, in Victoria, Australia has recently been involved in the preparation of over 20 safety cases to meet both offshore (Victoria and Western Australia) [Petroleum {Submerged Lands} Act] and onshore [Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act] regulatory requirements.This paper focusses on the development of the onshore safety cases for both Longford and Long Island Point plants to meet the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety (Major Hazard Facilities) Regulations 2000. Both plants have been granted a five-year unconditional licence to operate.The objectives of the safety case development were to ensure that Esso:addressed major hazard facilities regulatory requirements; maximised benefit from the process, and to maximise benefit from existing work; was consistent with site approach to risk assessment/ safety culture; involved appropriate workforce from all areas— operations, maintenance and technical support; enhanced the effective knowledge and understanding of the workforce; and developed a communication tool to enable ease of understanding by site personnel.Esso’s approach of using qualitative risk assessment techniques (familiar to many site personnel) enabled the process to use tools that provided ease of involvement for the non-technical or safety specialists. This paper will explain this approach in greater detail, demonstrating how this successfully met the stringent requirements of the regulations whilst providing Hazard Register documentation readily understood by the key customer— our site workforce.The hazard register clearly identifies the relevant hazards and their controls, as well as highlighting the linkages to the safety management system and documented performance standards. A comprehensive training program provides all personnel working at site with an overview of the safety case, and the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to use the safety case and hazard register to its maximum advantage. The safety case resource booklet (similar to our offshore approach) is an integral part of the training program, and provides an ongoing reference source for trainees. It continues to receive recognition by both regulators and industry.

ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd’s subsidiary, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd (ExxonMobil), and BHP Billiton jointly own and operate an LPG fractionation facility at Long Island Point, near Hastings in Victoria. This facility began operating in 1970 as part of the overall development of Gippsland oil and gas resources. The facility had a nominal design life of 30 years; however, the facility will be required to operate for many more years, given the significant gas reserves remaining in Bass Strait. A plan was developed to identify and progress plant facility upgrades to ensure continued, safe operation to life end. Nine separate projects with a total value in excess of A$250 million were developed and are now in various stages of progress. The key projects include: refrigerated LPG storage tank refurbishment, fire system upgrade, a new control room and control system, and plant emergency shutdown system upgrades. These projects focus on achieving high standards of safe operations and long-term reliability through application of advances in technology to ready the facilities for their remaining life.

On behalf of itself and BHP-B, Esso operates offshore production platforms in Bass Strait, a crude stabilisation and gas processing plant at Longford and a LPG fractionation plant at Long Island Point, Victoria. The Technical Surveillance Program for these facilities is implemented at both the Operator and Engineering levels. The program has been enhanced by building on existing DCS process control and process information (PI) systems and through development of a more structured engineering monitoring system. The enhanced program continues to register tangible benefits in integrity, product quality, recovery, efficiency and reliability and capacity.At the operator level, the process is monitored continuously, assisted by process alarms to maintain the plant within the normal desirable operating zone. Safe operating limits define the outside boundary of the safe operating envelope which is secured with shutdown and other automatic protective devices. Alarm and limit conditions associated with these parameters have been incorporated into the DCS control system with pre-defined operator responses appearing automatically on the screen if the condition is reached.At the engineering level, the surveillance program is a systematic periodic monitoring process focussing on optimum performance and continuous improvement. It is structured using the elements of a management system. Within this framework, engineering spreadsheets have been developed with direct links to process data via process information system software. The spreadsheets assist plant engineers to efficiently monitor the key performance variables; they also pre-define the acceptable operating range, calculate statistical performance, highlight deviations and hyperlink back to the PI system for more detailed troubleshooting. Day-today deviations and performance improvements are fed back and reviewed at the working level, more significant issues are formally investigated and reviewed with management. Key data and overall performance is summarised monthly, and formally reviewed by plant and engineering management.

The PNG LNG Project is a major resource project in Papua New Guinea that should double the GDP of PNG and provide significant benefits to numerous remote, regional and metropolitan communities. Through a commitment to providing optimal training and employment opportunities for PNG nationals, Esso Highlands Limited is recruiting candidates from all over PNG to take up training and employment opportunities. One opportunity for PNG candidates is the Operations and Maintenance Technician Traineeship Program. This involves 18 months of preparatory training in Port Moresby and 12 months at advanced technical training facilities overseas followed by up to 24 months on the job training at the actual facility; either the Hides gas conditioning plant in the Southern Highlands or at the LNG plant outside Port Moresby in PNG. This program is structured to establish a highly-trained workforce of more than 150 technicians for key operational roles in the PNG LNG Project. A nationwide recruitment drive attracted more than 8,000 applicants. Although the scale of this response—in a country with poor socio-economic conditions and limited paid employment opportunities—was anticipated, the linguistic and cultural diversity of the candidates provided a major challenge for Esso Highlands. The challenge involved how to appropriately and fairly assess and select the required number of trainees from this massive pool of candidates. To address some of the assessment and selection needs, Esso Highlands Limited commissioned ValueEdge Consulting in light of their experience and expertise in delivering similar culturally appropriate assessment programs throughout Australia and southeast Asia. This presentation will provide an overview of the staged assessment model used to select the 76 most suitable candidates from the original 8,000 applicants for the first traineeship program, which commenced in Port Moresby in July 2010. The success of this recruitment program in a culturally, linguistically and educationally diverse country is highlighted by the fact that another significant-sized group of the candidates were retained by Esso Highlands Limited in internship positions—this is in addition to the 76 candidates selected for trainee positions. Due to the high-calibre talent pool attracted by this opportunity and assessed through this program, the extended pool of retained candidates enabled Esso Highlands Limited to meet their needs for the traineeships and also to identify suitable candidates to fulfill a range of their other training and employment opportunities. This presentation will outline details of the selection methods and tools used for the assessment of: training potential, technical aptitude, interpersonal skills, technical knowledge, team work, and individual competencies. The presentation also outlines a model for other green-field sites in countries where traditional recruitment methodologies are ineffective or culturally and linguistically biased against the local population.