4.50 AM

Alarm goes off, time to head to breakfast and pack lunch for the day ahead

5.40 AM

First meeting for the day with area leads onsite. As SIMOPS (Simultaneous operations) coordinator I confirm all the planned activities for the day with the area leads, and we discuss any emerging issues.

6.00 AM

Toolbox pre-start meeting with the entire commissioning team, including both our Santos and contracting team’s onsite. I communicate key activities for the day to all personnel working onsite, so everyone is aware of the impact of different work party activities, as well as any safety learnings or general notices.

We are commissioning a new 60TJ compression facility at Scotia (400km NW of Brisbane). However, we need to work in collaboration with the existing 30TJ facility that’s been operating here for 15years. This requires strong communication between our commissioning team and the operations team to discuss where gas is flowing and when to meet both our commissioning timelines and our production targets.

6.30 AM

Confirm work permits for the day with the permit authority and start reading through reports on plant status generated overnight, as well a quick look at any compressor trends for units that have been running overnight.  Overnight we’ve had the Primary Control Centre (PCC) in Brisbane shut-down our unit due to a high level in our Tri-ethyl-glycol (TEG) dehydration unit. We have a valve that is undersized and our vendor is currently working to get a correct sized valve internal, but as it’s a long lead-time item in the interim we are having to find ways to operate with the valve sizing we have.

7.30 AM

Head out on-skid while we bring Main Compressor 01 (MC01) online to monitor trends from the panel. We want a machine online to provide discharge pressure, so we can get the TEG unit back online and use the discharge gas to pressurise the interconnecting line from our new facility to our sales point.

7.35 AM

Compressor engine tripped during startup on underspeed, we still need to fine-tune the air/fuel ratio on startup so that the mixture is correct when the compressor starts-up cold. After a trip restart, the pressure is higher and allows us to start-up smoothly. We will capture all the trends from this trip and recess the timings of fuel to air mixing on startup with our vendor, caterpillar.

8.30 AM

Begin pressurisation of the interconnect line up to main compressor discharge pressure of 8500kPa. After having issues on the TEG overnight some I needed to spend some time on this skid ensuring that the levels stabilised once we were producing.

10.00 AM

Received an alarm for off-specification gas running down the pipeline during our pressurisation. The gas chromatograph (GC) is reading a value outside our desired limits, and over time could result in off-spec gas going to our customer’s pipeline.

10.30 AM

Started investigation into GC specification issues and diverted production from interconnect line back to the Scotia legacy facility, working with operations to change gas nominations and starting communications with the vendors who supplied the GC to determine why our readings are not calibrated.

12.30 PM

Conduct an onsite critical control check on equipment isolations that are currently being worked under on MC03. The blinds are being swung on the machine as we need to replace a piston that was identified as undersized during commissioning activities. The verification went well and a few minor items were discussed with the teams involved and recorded so we can learn from them across the business.

1.30 PM

Head back into the office for our daily commissioning meeting. As things change very quickly in commissioning this meeting allows us as the commissioning team to discuss what has occurred so far today, discuss our forward plan for tomorrow and review any specific actions we each have.

The operations team leader also attends so we can determine gas nominations and any impacts on the legacy facility due to our commissioning forward plan.

2.30 PM

One of my actions from the daily meeting is to use the infrared (IR) camera to determine if there are any identifiable gas leaks on our recently commissioned TEG skid. Running the camera over the skid I can’t identify any gas releases, and given that the skid has successfully held pressure I’m happy to sign off that final step in our commissioning procedure.

3.00 PM

Need to spend a few hours reviewing schedules, parts and personnel requirements for the total plant outage (TPO) which I’m event leader for onsite next shift. Had an informal meeting with the event planner to realign any work that is outstanding and prepare for meetings with Brisbane tomorrow on preparedness for the outage.

5.30 PM

After completing the gas testing on the TEG the procedure is ready for sign-off and submission. I need to ensure any outstanding actions are raised as punchlist items that are entered into our system for follow-up.  

6.30 PM

Email a SIMOPS report to all personnel onsite and key stakeholders back in Brisbane so everyone is aligned on the plan for next day’s work. Ensure that all personnel have signed out of site before heading out the gate myself.

7.00 PM

Head back to camp for a quick run before heading in for dinner with the team.

8.45 PM

Head to bed ready to start again the next day. Each day is entirely different on shift during commissioning, who knows what tomorrow will bring!