DECEMBER 2019 A product ofPublications & Exhibitions Australia Pty Ltdaustralianoilandgasreview.com.au

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OIL & GAS REVIEWU P S T R E A M — D O W N S T R E A M — R E N E W A B L E S

Woodside

AN increase in production of 44pc has highlighted an impressive September quarter for Woodside Petroleum.

The jump of 24.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) over the past three months led to a 58pc improvement on the company’s delivered sales revenue at $1.164b for the quarter.

A top performer was Pluto LNG, achieving record production rates, record quarterly production and 99.7pc reliability, following the major turnaround in the previous quarter.

Following completion of the Greater Enfield project, more than 2.5 mmboe were also produced from the Ngujima-Yin floating production storage and offloading since restart.

Woodside chief executive officer Peter Coleman said Pluto and the near-term

growth delivered by the Greater Enfield project would be key contributors to the 2020 production target of about 100 mmboe.

Woodside also achieved a positive final investment decision for the Pyxis Hub project at Carnarvon Basin in northern WA, with key contracts awarded to support design and installation of subsea equipment infrastructure.

BHP

Impacted by tropical storm Barry in the Gulf of Mexico and planned maintenance at its North West Shelf project in WA, BHP’s petroleum production fell 1pc on the June period, or an 11pc drop on the same corresponding period, to 29mmboe.

While the tropical cyclone affected BHP’s crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids production, the North West Shelf maintenance works hit the company’s natural gas production during the September quarter.

BHP also reported natural field decline across the portfolio, partially offset by higher uptime at the Pyrenees project in WA following the 70-day dry dock maintenance during the same period last year.

BHP chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said despite the setbacks, guidance remained unchanged and the miner was on track to deliver slightly higher volumes than last financial year.

The Bass Strait West Barracouta project, offshore Victoria, is tracking to plan and expected to achieve first

production in 2021.BHP’s Mad Dog floating production

facility in the United States Gulf of Mexico is 58pc complete on schedule and set to produce up to 140,000 gross barrels of crude oil a day.

Its newly approved Ruby project in Trinidad and Tobago is also 6pc complete and is scheduled for first production in 2021.

Santos

Oil and gas producer Santos registered record production and sales volumes in the third quarter, as well as its second highest quarterly sales revenue ever.

The company’s production was up 32pc on September 2018 and 7pc on the June quarter, with 19.8mmboe.

Its sales revenue reached $1.030b, while the record sales volume of 25.2 mmboe is a 25pc improvement from September 2018.

Well tests at the company’s high-prospect oil and gas resource Dorado, WA, show the field is capable of producing higher than expected flow rates.

The oil test rate was 11,100 barrels per day, one of the highest ever from a North West shelf appraisal well test.

Santos also had a new acquisition, ConocoPhillips, delivering shareholders operatorship and control of long-life, low cost natural gas assets and liquified natural gas infrastructure in northern Australia.

THE largest gas discovery of 2019 so far has been announced by BP, off the coast of Mauritania.

According to Rystad Energy senior analyst Palzor Shenga, BP’s find at Orca-1 offshore the African country is deep and holds about 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent of recoverable resources.

Orca-1 was drilled about 7.5km from the crest of an anticline.

The discovery, the second in the northern part of the block, lies in the MSGBC (Mauritania-Senegal-Gambia-Bissau-Conakry) basin.

Orca-1 is in line with BP’s strategy to build an additional LNG hub in the Bir Allah area.

Offshore activity has dominated exploration in the gas industry in 2019, both in terms of the number of discoveries and the volume of resources unearthed.

Mr Shenga said Mauritania now ties Guyana for the second most discovered volumes this year, trailing close behind Russia’s 1.5b boe.

“This type of significant discovery, along with the projects lined up, could

help establish the African nation as a major player and exporter in the industry,” he said.

The region grabbed headlines with a series of world-class discoveries in Senegal and Mauritania.

Mauritania and Senegal are slowly becoming world-class LNG centres, with three different planned hubs containing around 10tpa: Yakaar-Terenga, Tortue, and the Bira Allah hub.

BP and partners announced the final investment decision (FID) for Phase 1 of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim development in December 2018.

It was the first major gas project to reach FID in the basin and will provide LNG for global export and domestic use in both Mauritania and Senegal.

“The volumes are not contracted and therefore it is likely they will be included in BP’s export portfolio across

the continent and made available for clients within the Atlantic basin,” Mr Shenga said.

“The inter-governmental agreement between the Senegalese and Mauritanian governments, combined with BP’s presence in all the three projects, offers a perfect synergy for future development and additional exports from these African countries.”

QUARTERLY REPORTS

RAY CHAN MAURITANIA

Ups and downs for producers

Largest gas find of the year

Woodside’s Pluto LNG platform.

The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim cross-border development offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

Image: Woodside Petroleum.

2 DECEMBER 2019THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEWNEWS

ANDROMEDA Metals has secured a matched Commonwealth grant that will lead to a total of up to $100,000 spent on research into the use of halloysite nanotubes for use as a safe means for hydrogen storage.

The initial research project will run for 12 months at the Global Innovative Center for Advanced Nanomaterials (GICAN), based at the University of Newcastle, NSW, while the intellectual property developed will be owned by Natural Nanotech Pty Ltd, the recently incorporated company formed with Minotaur Exploration Limited to identify and develop emerging high-tech uses for halloysite, of which Andromeda is currently earning a 50pc equity interest.

Andromeda managing director James Marsh said commercialisation of hydrogen storage infrastructure had been limited by the non-availability of economic, safe and efficient hydrogen storage systems for long distance transportation.

“Naturally occurring halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) present a unique opportunity as a potential hydrogen storage material,” he said.

Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element that possesses the highest calorific value and burns cleanly, producing water as a by-product. It is regarded as a promising alternative energy source.

The reducing cost of hydrogen production from various technologies, and a global transition towards minimising the use of fossil-based energy sources, have created a major economic opportunity for hydrogen.

“Commercialisation has been limited by the non-availability of an economic, safe and efficient hydrogen storage system for long distance transportation,” Mr Marsh said.

“Conventional hydrogen storage technologies such as gas compression and cryogenic liquid are costly, less energy efficient,

and require high capital infrastructure. “Hence storage of hydrogen in solid state

materials has become attractive for meeting transportation requirements.

“Numerous materials are currently being tested, but all have deficiencies making them unable to meet the economies of scale required.

“Naturally occurring halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) present a unique opportunity for hydrogen storage due to a balance of distinctive natural characteristics.”

Andromeda has a large resource of halloysite rich kaolin at the Carey’s Well deposit and exploration has identified other areas of very high-purity halloysite across the Poochera Project and also at Camel Lake and Mount Hope, all located in South Australia.

Final assays from the Poochera aircore drilling program undertaken in May have

now been received allowing commencement of an update to the Mineral Resource at Carey’s Well.

Work on the Poochera Project Prefeasibility Study has also begun while an optimisation to the Scoping Study to consider wet-processing at site is underway.

Mr Marsh said it was Andromeda’s vision is to become a world leading producer of halloysite-kaolin and a leader in halloysite technologies.

The GICAN has been using sophisticated techniques to characterise halloysite, and preliminary trials on the hydrogen storage ability of HNT has shown better adsorption capacity than the reported values for graphene.

Already an innovative strategy has been devised by the centre to significantly enhance the hydrogen adsorption capacities of HNTs.

AUSTRALIAN LNG producer Woodside and Korea Gas Corporation have signed a non-binding agreement to jointly study the technical and commercial feasibility of a green hydrogen pilot project.

Since 2018, Woodside and KOGAS have held a series of joint workshops investigating the potential of hydrogen as a fuel of the future and plan to examine the feasibility of a green hydrogen project across the entire value chain, including production, storage, transportation and distribution.

Woodside executive vice president marketing trading and shipping Reinhardt Matisons said the agreement would allow the company to progress its work identifying and exploring options for hydrogen production and supply chains.

“KOGAS and Woodside have a longstanding relationship and it is fitting that we are taking steps together towards a low-carbon energy future,” he said.

Hydrogen is one of the new lower-carbon energy solutions that Woodside is working on, according to chief executive Peter Coleman.

“We are considering all options for managing and reducing emissions from our facilities, whether through changes in facility design or improving the efficiency of our operations,” Mr Coleman said.

“As Woodside heads into a growth phase

in northern Australia, we are looking to integrate renewable and gas-fired generation to power our facilities, with environmental and commercial benefits.”

“We have set up an internal business to generate and acquire quality offsets, and are pursuing options including environmental planting, partnerships for savannah burning, and international opportunities.”

The LNG giant plans to develop the Browse Joint Venture as part of the North West Shelf (NSW) project – with the WA State Government moving to extend the agreement by 25 years to cover proposed expansion plans.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said that, in order to sustain the Karratha gas plant at full

capacity after 2021, the NWS project will have to process gas from outside the area currently covered by the state agreement, which expires on December 31, 2034 – and so to provide gas on a long-term basis, the agreement would need to be extended.

“The potential benefits to the state resulting from these project are significant, and include billions of dollars of investment into the state, the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs for Western Australians, the continuation of supply of domestic gas, the potential to develop further industry in Western Australia that relies on domestic gas as a key input, increased royalties and increased exports of LNG,” Mr McGowan said.

Bulk sampling of halloysite-kaolin at Carey’s Well.

The letter of agreement was signed at the Gastech exhibition in Houston by Woodside executive vice president marketing trading and shipping Reinhardt Matisons and KOGAS executive vice president Yang mi Choi.

Andromeda zooms in on halloysite

Hydrogen plan to fuel growth

THE ABB Group has been engaged to deliver automation, electrification and instrumentation solutions for the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) pilot project at Port of Hastings, Victoria.

The project aims to produce clean hydrogen in Australia and transport it to Japan in liquefied form.

ABB has been awarded contracts in both countries, including electrification and instrumentation in Australia and an automation contract from Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan.

In Australia, ABB will supply electrical equipment for the new hydrogen liquefaction and loading terminal at Port of Hastings, where hydrogen gas produced by brown coal gasification at Latrobe Valley will be liquefied and stored.

On the Japanese front, ABB will provide an automation and safety system to support operations at the liquid hydrogen receiving terminal at Kobe ABB Bailey.

ABB industrial automation business president Peter Terwiesch said the company was excited to add this Asia-Pacific project to its wealth of global experience.

“ABB is excited to collaborate on this world-first pilot to commercialise technology for liquefying and transporting hydrogen from Australia and deliver clean energy to Japan, while also reducing emissions,” Mr Terwiesch said.

“As a technology leader, our high-quality products and solutions are matched by our global experience and innovative spirit.”

The HESC project pilot phase will operate for about one year from 2020 and has the potential to create $2billion in exports, positioning Australia as a global leader in hydrogen production.

ABB takeshydrogento Japan

The journey taken by the liquefied hydrogen carriers.

RAY CHAN VICTORIA

RAY CHAN NATIONAL

EMMA DAVIES WA

Image: Andromeda.

Image: Woodside.

3DECEMBER 2019THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW NEWS

AUSTRALIAN company Electric Vehicle Systems and Technology has developed a breakthrough technology with its patented ultra-low voltage (ULV) electric drive system.

At voltages as low as three volts, the equivalent power of an internal combustion engine can be electrically generated to drive light and heavy mobile mining machinery.

The company installed its drive system in a Toyota Landcruiser and showcased its technology at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Melbourne.

EVS&T spokesman Michael Byford said the safety implications alone of its patented Ultra Low Voltage electric drive system were enormous.

“It removes the electrocution hazard for operators, maintenance personnel and emergency crews in the event of an accident,” Mr Byford said.

“The need for training personnel to work with high voltage can be removed.”

In the mining industry the case for electric-powered mobile equipment is compelling.

Electric drive systems have the potential to reduce ventilation costs, eliminate health concerns over DPM, allow deeper or more productive mines and add a great advantage to a mine’s social license to operate.

Machinery TCO will decrease because of less maintenance required by electric drive systems and the reduced running costs achieved by utilising electricity over fossil fuels.

Such reduction favourably impacts a mine’s operating costs.

EVS&T’s ultra-low voltage solution eliminates the need for high voltages in the region of 340 to 1000 volts which are presently the only way to power electric mining machinery.

These voltages, which carry significant safety risks and require stringent guidelines and work practises, dedicated charging facilities, and properly trained operators and maintenance personnel, can be removed from the risk assessment on the machinery.

The other benefits of the ULV electric drive system include: · Quick and efficient battery swap, even

with the motor running. · A motor which is battery agnostic, allowing

the upgrade of batteries at any time and even the operation of mixed battery chemistries at the same time.

· Parallel battery configuration, which allows the vehicle to continue to drive even with one or more degraded battery units.

· Low voltage battery packs that are amenable to simple charging arrangements, even directly from solar cells.

· No software means no built-in obsolescence and no avenue for malicious hacking.

· No dedicated tooling required for maintenance and support.

· Retro fitting to existing equipment is highly feasible, reducing capex and extending vehicle operating life.

DOWNER has managed to nab contracts worth around $165m to build FMG’s 60MW Chichester Solar Farm.

Awarded by Alinta Energy, the contracts cover construction of a new solar photovoltaic generation facility and supporting power infrastructure as part of the solar gas hybrid project.

Work includes the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of the Chichester Solar Farm, approximately 60 kilometres of transmission line (linking Fortescue’s Christmas Creek and Cloudbreak mining operations with Alinta Energy’s Newman gas-fired power station and 35MW battery facility), as well as two new substations and the upgrade of another.

Downer chief executive officer Grant Fenn said the award is another endorsement of the company’s experience and leadership in delivering renewable energy projects.

“We are looking forward to delivering the project in partnership with Alinta Energy,” Mr Fenn said.

“We are expecting an efficient integration of the solar farm and supporting power infrastructure into Alinta Energy’s existing network in the Pilbara.”

Alinta Energy managing director and chief executive officer Jeff Dimery said the two companies were working together to show how the mine sites of the future could be powered.

“Working together, we are on the cusp of demonstrating that renewables can drive Australia’s economic powerhouses forward – even for remote and complex industrial applications,” he said.

The project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021.

WITH the Australian energy sector preparing to open data access and sharing under the Consumer Data Right (CDR) legislation in 2020, the need to ensure data security and privacy has never been more vital.

The recent Global Advanced Threat Landscape 2019 Report by CyberArk found that hackers are the greatest security threat to the energy industry, with hackers accessing privileged accounts, credentials and secrets to gain the permissions or tools allowing them to pose as an insider and gain access to network infrastructure and steal data.

CyberArk solutions engineering manager (ANZ) Andrew Slavkovic said that as utility organisations have modernised their operations, their security approach needs to keep pace with cyber threats.

“The CDR legislation proposed for 2020 will enable greater choice and control for Australians over how their data is used and disclosed,” Mr Slavkovic said.

“With this greater flexibility for the consumer, there is rightly an expectation that the handling organisations maintain

a high level of security and privacy for both data at rest and whilst in transit – for example, when switching from one provider to another.

“In an open, data-sharing energy sector, new pathways between previously unconnected organisations will be created, enabling attackers to move laterally between connected ICT systems.”

The report showed that 82pc of utilities providers recognise the threat but that only

29pc have privileged access management systems in place for industrial control systems (ICS).

“Alarmingly, our research found almost half of energy and utilities organisations (45pc) believe attackers will get into their networks each and every time they try - with this in mind, it is best that organisations maintain a mentality of not if I will be attacked, but when,” Mr Slavkovic said.

For energy and utilities providers to

mitigate cyber attacks through privileged access security its best to be proactive, locking down credentials and monitoring employee access to reduce risks.

“Operate as if you’ve been compromised,” Mr Slavkovic said.

“A determined attacker (especially, a nation state sponsored one) will get in, and that’s why security inside the network, particularly managing privileged and third-party access, is crucial.”

The electric drive system was installed in a Toyota Landcruiser at IMARC.

Low voltage drive packs powerDowner wins $165m contract for solar farm

Hackers threat to energy

RAY CHAN VICTORIA

EMMA DAVIES WA

EMMA DAVIES NATIONAL

4 DECEMBER 2019THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEWNEWS

A NEW guide from the Clean Energy Council provides a huge range of ideas to help clean energy developers share the benefits of projects like wind and solar farms with local communities.

Released at the All-Energy Australia Exhibition and Conference in Melbourne, and supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the guide provides a practical tool to assist project proponents, financiers, policy makers and communities to understand the wide range of benefit sharing methods available.

CEC Energy Generation director Anna Freeman said benefit sharing aimed to ensure that communities as a whole benefit from a new development.

“It has been a growing feature of many renewable energy developments for many years now, but some approaches are more established than others,” she said.

“The guide is designed to share a wide range of ideas for ways that renewable energy projects can amplify their positive impact in their local communities.

“The Council would like to see benefit sharing become a feature of all renewable energy projects. The form that it takes should be determined in consultation with the local community – there is no one-size-fits-all.”

The guide outlines key principles for effective benefit sharing and provides detailed overviews of a range of different options, from employment and procurement strategies to sponsorship and grants programs, and community co-ownership and investment.

It showcases a range of Australian firsts, including Australia’s first renewable energy co-ownership model (Coonooer Bridge Wind Farm, Windlab) and the country’s first large-scale project to be opened up for public community investment (Sapphire Wind Farm, CWP Renewables).

Ms Freeman said a particular focus of the guide was to share detailed information about how some of these emerging models had been implemented, in order to help other proponents evaluate and replicate the approaches where appropriate.

“Community co-investment and co-ownership models have been very effective strategies for achieving deep community engagement with renewable energy developments, but they remain rather novel in commercial, large-scale renewable energy developments,” she said.

“We want to share some fantastic case studies from those who have already navigated this path with the broader industry and widen the range of options that proponents and communities can consider.”

The guide is available on the Clean Energy Council website: www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/

RAY CHAN NATIONAL

Guide shares clean energy benefits

TWO powerhouses of the pipeline industry were recognised at the recent Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) conference for their many decades of contribution to the industry.

Mick McCormack’s almost four decades of high-profile activity in Australia’s gas transmission pipelines has been recognised through the award of Honorary Life Membership of APGA.

Chief executive officer and managing director of APA Group until his retirement in mid-2019, Mr McCormack began his career as a contract surveyor on the Moonie to Brisbane pipeline. His retirement brought an end to more than 37 years’ experience in all aspects of oil and gas pipelines.

During that time, he was integral to the development of the economic regulatory and commercial framework applying to pipelines, commercial development, construction, expansion, operations and maintenance of many of Australia’s most significant gas pipelines and related infrastructure projects.

Phil Colvin, who won the APGA 2019 Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Pipeline Industry Award, has spent more than 30 years promoting, protecting and advancing the pipelines and gas industry.

He has done so by working within it, providing platforms for change through his active Standards and research contributions and by mentoring a younger generation of engineers to ensure they are retained by the industry.

Recognition forpipeline pioneersRAY CHANVICTORIA

The guide provides many useful ideas to help clean energy developers share the benefits of their projects with local communities.

GERARD MCARTNEYCHILE

BHP has signed four new clean energy contracts for power at its Escondida and Spence copper mines in Chile as it continues its push toward 100pc renewable power in the mid 2020’s.

While the company will cop US$780m in cancellation fees for dropping coal contracts, it said that it would be value-accretive in the long term.

The transition came as the result of separate tenders for both Escondida and Spence, with BHP signing on for two separate 15-year contracts for 3TW hours per year, and 10-year contracts for 3TW hours per year with ENEL Generacion Chile and Colbun respectively.

BHP said that the contracts would reduce energy prices at the mines by about 20pc, provide operations flexibility and security of supply, and strengthen its ability to deliver copper across the supply chain.

It comes as BHP continues to emphasise

the importance of social value as investors continue to demand action on decarbonisation across the value chain.

BHP president of operations, minerals for the Americas, Danny Malchuk, said that when fully operational, the renewables would eliminate “virtually all of Escondida and Spence Scope 2 emissions, effectively displacing up to 3 million tonnes of CO2 annually compared to the fossil fuel contracts they replace”.

“This is the equivalent to annual emissions from about 700,000 combustion engine cars and accounts for around 70pc of BHP’s Minerals Americas total greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.

This is the latest example of large mining companies continuing to push green credentials.

Last month BHP released its calculation and methodology for Scope 3 emissions, and Rio Tinto signed an historic MoU with Chinese steel giant China Baowu Steel Group and Tsinghua University aimed at reducing scope 3 carbon emissions across the entire steel value chain.

BHP has also confirmed that its Spence operations will use desalinated water as the main source of supply from mid-2020 upon completion of the 1000l per second desalination plant.

Mr Malchuk said that BHP also had to do more to sustainably manage its water resources in Chile.

Escondida is the largest copper mine in the world, operating out of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest regions in the world.

“Water is a precious commodity that is critical to our operations in Chile and to the communities where we operate in the Atacama Desert,” he said.

“We recognise our operations have an impact on the environment given the immense amount of water they consume.

“For more than a decade, we’ve been working towards eliminating water usage from aquifers from our operations in Chile.

“We invested more than US$4b in Escondida’s desalination facilities to significantly reduce our groundwater usage and secure a sustainable water supply.”

Escondida copper mine. All images: BHP.

BHP spices it up in Chile

Daniel Malchuk, president

operations, minerals

Americas.

THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW

COMPREHENSIVE condition monitoring systems can mean the difference between expensive, unplanned downtime waiting on replacement parts, and a planned preventative maintenance schedule with minimal disruption to workflow.

Problems or malfunctions in plant and equipment operation often become apparent through changes in vibration behaviour, unusual temperature patterns or noise emissions.

Reliability and condition monitoring specialists, Schaeffler, have almost 20 years’ experience in this field and primarily use vibration, temperature and acoustic emission diagnosis to detect damage or abnormal wear in machinery at a very early stage, so that these components can be repaired or replaced as part of planned downtime. Costly unscheduled downtime is therefore minimised.

Depending on the type of machine and its importance in the production process, condition monitoring can be carried out by means of either continuous (online) monitoring or regular periodic (offline) monitoring.

Schaeffler condition monitoring and reliability systems manager, Mark Ciechanowicz, said the company has several systems available, ranging from single point to multi-channel surveillance systems utilising multi-parameter sensors.

“Predominantly we measure vibration, but we also monitor other condition monitoring parameters such as acoustic emissions, component temperature and oil and grease condition. We can also accept other process parameters such as speed, load, pressure, etc,” he said.

“We have a Remote Diagnostic Centre (RDC) in Sydney where we measure 300,000

characteristic data points daily throughout Australia and New Zealand, which include assets like wind turbine generators, grinding mills, mobile mining equipment i.e. draglines, shovels and haulage trucks, fixed mining plant equipment, pumps in water sewage treatment plants. We also cover variable speed and ultra-slow applications.”

The Schaeffler diagnostic experts are familiar with all analytical techniques — ranging from vibration measurements, infra-red thermography to torque analysis and endoscopy inspections – and as a result, they can quickly identify malfunctions and devise appropriate solutions.

Online monitoring options

When monitoring mobile fleets, such as haulage trucks, draglines and shovels, the focus is typically on electric wheel motors, alternators,

hoist, drag, swing, propel and crowd sections, and is carried out with dual parameter sensors monitoring both the vibration and temperature of each bearing.

All the data is collected automatically and communicates over the Schaeffler cloud back to the RDC where Schaeffler’s reliability service engineers perform the diagnosis.

Should the 4G wireless signal drop out, the data is retained on the machine’s data logger and will automatically transfer to the Schaeffler cloud once reconnected.

“We provide reports based on machine condition back to the client – that happens on a regular basis, normally monthly, however alarms are checked on a daily basis and any exceptions are reported straight away to the customer,” Mr Ciechanowicz said.

This regularity provides more in-depth knowledge of the normal condition of the

machine and deviations can be more easily detected – forewarning mine sites of any components on the brink of failure or parts that could need replacement in the near future.

“In between that comprehensive diagnostic report, we also look at any alarms that have been generated in between the monthly reports and immediately provide any machine conditions that are an exception back to the client, so they are instantly notified if there’s any kind of change in that machine’s condition,” Mr Ciechanowicz said.

“We also go further than that: not only do we detect problems, we can also provide a prognosis as to when the client needs to do something, and what exactly it is that they need to do and what kind of maintenance is required for a particular machine.”

Seamless integration

In addition to offering advice on selecting the right monitoring system, Schaeffler also offers turn-key solutions i.e. installing and implementing monitoring systems.

This not only includes hardware selection but also system configuration and, where necessary, its integration into existing data collection and reporting systems.

“We often install systems on critical equipment to monitor motor drives, gearboxes, trunnion and pinion bearings.” Mr Ciechanowicz said.

“Because the mill bearings are actually rotating at quite a low speed, we’re able to employ techniques such as high-gain accelerometer and acoustic emission sensors for monitoring these slow-speed bearing applications.”

Schaeffler can install systems from new or retrofit to existing infrastructure.

Detect problems and faults earlier with vibration monitoring.

Schaeffler specialises in online condition monitoring.

NATIONAL

Forewarned and forearmed

5CONDITION MONITORINGDECEMBER 2019

MORE INFORMATION: Schaeffler | 02 8977 1010 | Info.au@schaeffler.com | www.schaeffler.com.au

“With both new and retrofitted systems, we set up baseline thresholds and tweak those alarms specifically over time to ensure that we eliminate the risk of any transient alarming that may occur.” Mr Ciechanowicz said.

“We help sites to increase the reliability of their plants which in turn increases the uptime and availability of the machines to produce when they are required to process.”

Invaluable investment

Investment in such monitoring systems often pays for itself in the first year due to the reduced failure costs.

“We’re arming clients with the time to ensure they have the inventory – particularly those components with long lead times – to plan maintenance activities in a proactive manner,” Mr Ciechanowicz said.

He pointed to the example of bucket wheel bearings as one such component where forewarning is particularly advantageous.

“Those large bearings aren’t just sitting around,” he said.

“Especially if they’re a custom bearing and the client doesn’t have one sitting in stock, there’s going to be a lead time and the costs start to escalate because you’ve got transport and

replacement costs and mounting downtime costs as well.”

The return on investment from a comprehensive condition and reliability monitoring system is phenomenal.

“We’ve done calculations on a dragline where we measure the hoist, swing, drag and propel sections and the cost wasn’t so much on the gearbox – even though it’s a half a million-dollar gearbox in its own right – it was actually in the cost of the downtime,” Mr Ciechanowicz said.

“If you look at the cost of the downtime, every hour that dragline is down (depending on

the commodity prices) it can be quite significant and vary from around $40,000-60,000 per hour.

“If you don’t have a spare gearbox or bearings for the gearbox to replace, you could be looking at days of downtime, so you can see how the production costs quickly outweigh the cost of the replacement part itself.

“In one failure such as this, the client could have paid for the entire condition monitoring system across the whole dragline.

“So, our monitoring systems provide common-sense insurance for the client against this type of unscheduled downtime for all their mining plant and equipment.”

6 CONDITION MONITORING DECEMBER 2019THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW

THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW 7CONDITION MONITORINGDECEMBER 2019

THEY walk among us, machine whisperers who understand the health of your critical mining equipment.

While some resort to placing their hands on the equipment to feel for change, new age machine whisperers use sensitive vibration analysis instruments to detect problems that would have otherwise given you a bad day.

They can detect bearing faults months in advance.

Critical gears that are wearing, or worse, cracking, can be detected in plenty of time to order the replacement and plan the work. Conveyors, ball mills, crushers, screens, bucket wheels, and the supporting motors, pump, and gearboxes – no problem, all in a day’s work.

Thanks to these machine whisperers, downtime can be significantly minimised.

The cost of repair can be drastically reduced. Safety and environmental incidents can also be reduced.

Not only can the machine whisperers see the future, they can change the future.

First, did you know that the equipment you buy may already be defective?

Plus the motor rewinds, balance jobs, gearbox overhauls, and other work by outside contractors can also be defective.

Even the maintenance work performed on-site may not be perfect.

Machine whisperers can detect it all, protecting you warranty disputes and from costly downtime and repairs.

Second, before mining equipment begins to fail, very often it will provide an indication that it is under stress because of operational issues,

lubrication issues, and for many other reasons.

The machine whisperers can detect that too. By avoiding the failures, you can achieve the highest levels of reliability and dependability.

What are “machine whisperers”?

They are men and women trained to be vibration analysts.

At one extreme, vibration instrumentation can be installed to monitor your critical assets 24/7.

Alternatively, portable instruments are carried from machine to machine where tests are performed to detect changes in vibration.

Either way, the information gathered will make a substantial financial impact profitability and competitiveness.

Mobius Institute provides training around the world, with accredited certification per the International Standards Organization.

No one trains more people in vibration analysis, condition monitoring, and reliability

improvement.

In Australia and New Zealand, no one delivers better training than Clyde Volpe at the Vibration Institute of Australia.

Clyde has trained thousands of certified vibration analysts from the mining industry and across all other industries.

For information about vibration analysis training courses contact VIA at www.viaustralia.com.au or jennie@viaustralia.com.au.

Machine whisperers see the future and change the future of critical mining equipment with vibration analysis.

JASON TRANTERCEO AND FOUNDERMOBIUS INSTITUTE NATIONAL

Meet the machine whisperers

8 CONDITION MONITORING DECEMBER 2019THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW

MORE INFORMATION: Vibration Institute of Australia | 03 9587 1177 | jennie@viaustralia.com.au | www.viaustralia.com.au

SOMETIMES machinery alignment is more than just aligning the shafts of a driver and driven machine.

For example, consider a particular drive system which may not have a vibration problem, but the mechanical seal would begin leaking very shortly after starting the unit up on this motor and fan drive system.

The fan shaft is supported with two rolling element bearings in a common housing.

The bearing housing for the fan shaft is not attached to the fan housing where the stuffing box and mechanical seal are located.

In this particular instance, a set of Reverse Indicator measurements were taken between the motor and fan shafts.

A laser alignment system could have been used here also.

Those measurements will tell us where the motor and fan shafts are located.

You also need to check the alignment between the fan shaft and the mechanical seal housing to make sure the fan shaft is concentric with the bore of the stuffing box.

The photo shows taking Face Rim measurements from the fan shaft to the mechanical seal housing.

A laser alignment system is not capable of doing that.

The illustration on the bottom left shows the up and down views (i.e. side view) of the motor and pump shafts as well as the centreline of the seal housing bore.

The illustration on the bottom right shows the east to west views (i.e. top view).

The objective is to align the motor and fan shafts to the centreline of the bore of the seal

housing.

The solutions for this problem are shown in the side and top view alignment models.

There are a variety of different alignment methods and alignment tools.

An alignment expert is someone who knows how to perform all of the different alignment methods and understands that the alignment tasks at hand may require more attention than just aligning the shafts of the machinery.

VIA is proud to be bringing, the master trainer and author of the definitive ‘The Shaft Alignment Handbook’, John Piotrowksi, to Australia in April/May 2020.

This will be the last opportunity to be trained by John in Australia. Contact VIA at www.viaustralia.com.au or email jennie@viaustralia.com.au.

NATIONAL

Get it right with shaft alignmentShaft misalignment is

responsible for over 50pc of machine failures in industry.

To properly align the drive system, alignment measurements need to be taken between the motor and fan shafts, as well as between the fan shaft and the mechanical seal housing.

THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW 9CONDITION MONITORINGDECEMBER 2019

BLUE Diamond is a leading, privately-owned equipment distributor with its head office in Kewdale, Perth.

The company’s core products are diesel generators, diesel air compressors and lighting towers.

Standard mine spec generators through to highly customised set-ups are available with customised synchronisation and low noise level, plus hybrid sets with solar and battery options.

Blue Diamond director Justin Pitts said

the company has customised containerised generator sets for the RAAF, as well as completing customised mine spec Denyo generators for Sino Iron Ore, Anglo Gold, Rio Tinto, and FMG.

“Our highly skilled and flexible team will deliver the right outcome at the right price,” Mr Pitts said.

“We offer the highly personalised service that you would expect from a leading WA-owned private business.”

Blue Diamond has also supplied synchronised Denyo 150s for the Water Corporation and customised Cummins powered units for CBH.

The company offers mechanical support from the office in Kewdale or field support from its base in Karratha.

“We are focused on expanding our field and workshop mechanical service capabilities for diesel generators, air compressors and lighting towers,” Mr Pitts said.

“With the expansion of our operations to Karratha and the relocation of our Kewdale facility to a far bigger location, our focus is well and truly on the WA mining, construction and agriculture markets.”

Blue Diamond also stocks a huge range

of spare parts for Denyo, AIRMAN, Kubota, Cummins, Perkins and all the equipment it sells, including bunded diesel fuel tanks, large mobile air coolers and ute and truck toolboxes.

“We are the exclusive national distributor for Denyo generators from Japan, the exclusive national distributor for Rotair air compressors from Italy and the WA distributor for Generac lighting towers from Italy – which include diesel, hybrid and solar,” Mr Pitts said.

“We carry massive stocks of equipment in our Kewdale warehouse so we’re sure to have the equipment you need when you need it.”

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Total power, air and light

Diesel generators are customisable to suit any mine site requirements.

The company distributes Generac lighting towers across Western Australia.

10 MINE SPEC GENERATORS DECEMBER 2019THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW

MORE INFORMATION: Blue Diamond Machinery | 1300 936 025 | www.bluedm.com.au

DENYO DIESEL GENERATORS

Denyo Generators are regarded as amongst as the highest quality generators in the world.

Having been established in Japan in 1948 to assist with the rebuild after WW2, they have

forged a reputation very early on as the most reliable and fuel-efficient generators on the

market.

They are revered in the Australian mining and rental markets due to their ability to run in

extremely hot conditions, with compact robust canopies that are designed to be lifted,

moved and truck mounted.

They are also more fuel efficient, being 11.25pc more fuel-efficient than other generators.

Quite simply, if your project requires the highest portable diesel generator suited to

Australia’s harsh conditions, this is the best option available.

Not only is Denyo simple and bullet-proof, it is also progressive, having developed a remote

monitoring system with its own app.

The generators can also be set up for synchronisation and can have inbuilt soft starters.

They are available ex stock from Blue Diamond (6kVA to 500kVA).

ROTAIR AIR COMPRESSORS

Rotair is a 50+ year-old company located in the heart of old Europe, at the feet of the

Maritime Alps and close to the French border.

It’s air compressors are successfully sold across the globe, including the USA, Australia and

New Zealand. They are manufactured in-house in Italy to the highest exacting standards; in

fact they far exceed Australian environmental standards, meeting stage 4 European standards

and are ready for tier 5.

All diesel units are capable of delivering 14 Bar pressure and operate in 50 degree ambient

temperatures.

The canopies are made of electro-galvanised steel and to ensure they stand up to corrosion.

They are available ex stock from Blue Diamond (75CFM to 800 CFM).

GENERAC LIGHTING TOWERS

The Generac Mobile range of light towers is the largest in the world, since 1997.

High quality manufacturing from an Italian-made global leader almost goes without saying,

but the focus on environmentally friendly solutions is where Generac has differentiated itself

from the competition.

The Generac VT Hybrid is the first hybrid light tower in the world. It is equipped with 4 X

150W high efficiency LED floor lights powered by a rechargeable battery pack.

This range of light towers guarantees a range a great reliability and sustainability.

They have been enthusiastically supported by the major national rental companies and are

available to your site ex stock from Blue Diamond.

CUSTOMISED POWER SOLUTIONS

Blue Diamond’s power solutions go beyond what can offered by the Denyo range.

Having recently installed 3 X 650 kVA customised containerised sets to a Pilbara mine

site, meeting tight noise, efficiency requirements and of course mine specifications, the

company will also be maintaining the prime power units from its Karratha depot. Blue

Diamond is currently delivering customised units across WA up to 2000 kVA.

The in-house team is experienced and hands on.

Call Blue Diamond if you would rather deal with an independent WA-owned company.

The highly skilled team at Blue Diamond can customise power and air solutions.

Blue Diamond is the exclusive national distributor for Rotair air compressors from Italy.

The company distributes Generac lighting towers across Western Australia.

Customised synchronisation, low noise level, hybrid sets with solar and battery options are available.

THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW 11MINE SPEC GENERATORSDECEMBER 2019

Early fire detection

EVERYONE knows about serious risk fire poses for mining operations – especially when there is a risk of rapid-fire propagation or even explosion.

Thermal imaging systems can be successfully used for early detection of fire risk, often even before the fire starts.

The principle is based on non-contact temperature measurement.

Thermal cameras measure the surface temperature of the region of interest (ROI) and, based on a gradual rise in temperature are able (using appropriate software) to assess the risk that may arise before any further manifestation occurs.

This evaluation occurs automatically and continuously which is why the Applied Infrared Sensing recommends the SAFETIS system for mining operations.

The SAFETIS thermal imaging system is an excellent improvement of traditional fire detection systems in all three phases of fire:

• PHASE 1 - Gradual heating

Flames and even smoke have not started yet. There is only the risk of gradual warming.

Even though the smoke detectors do not respond, the SAFETIS system records small changes in warming and can respond ahead of fire.

• PHASE 2 - Smoke generation

Smoke detectors respond in this phase, i.e. at the time when the smoke is generated.

However, this is a risky phase where rapid escalation of destructive fire can occur.

The SAFETIS system could respond well before the occurrence of this event.

• PHASE 3 – Flare-up

In this phase, flames are visible and smoke is generated. Special CCTV cameras and the smoke detectors usually respond well to this.

However, at this stage required response is much greater and loss of property or even life can occur.

Mineral exploration

Thermal Hyperspectral Imaging is unique application of thermal imaging cameras, breaking

the spectrum into a large number of bands and analysing them to detect particular materials, minerals or gases.

Traditionally, several remote sensing technologies have been used for mineral exploration – both visible-near infrared (VNIR, 0.4-1.4 μm) and shortwave infrared (SWIR, 1.4-3.0 μm) are well established techniques in this field.

However, the reflectance spectral features measured in the VNIR and SWIR spectral ranges are generally overtones and combination bands from fundamental absorption bands at longer wavelengths, such as in the Longwave Infrared (LWIR, 8–13.5 μm).

The single absorption bands in the VNIR and SWIR spectral ranges are often very closely spaced so that the reflectance features measured by common spectrometers in this spectral region are typically broad and/or suffer from strong overlapping, which raises selectivity issues for mineral identification in some cases.

Since the spectral features associated with fundamental vibrations are stronger and sharper than their overtones, LWIR technologies may bring substantial selectivity improvement in certain situations.

In addition, the overtone signals of many minerals such as silicate, feldspar and olivine are too weak to give appreciable spectral features in the VNIR and SWIR.

Telops (Canada) is developing innovative solutions for mineral exploration based on Longwave Infrared (LWIR) Thermal Infrared (TIR) hyperspectral sensor technology with high spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions for cost-efficient mineralogy mapping of large cliff sections.

The instrument, named Hyper-Cam, is a lightweight and compact passive thermal infrared hyperspectral sensor for field measurements allowing surveys in various weather (cloudy, partly cloudy or clear sky) and illumination (day or night) conditions.

About 100 units have been deployed, proving this type of portable hyperspectral instruments as a tool of choice for routine field applications, such as mining exploration.

The cameras can serve the dual purpose of fire safety and process control as they measure temperature in each pixel.

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MORE INFORMATION: Applied Infrared Sensing 1300 557 205 | www.applied-infrared.com.au

Many uses of thermal imaging technologies

LWIR hyperspectral technologies may substantially improve mineral selectivity.

12 THERMOGRAPHICS DECEMBER 2019THE AUST�LIAN OIL & GAS REVIEW