AUSTRALIAN COAL SEAM GAS DELIVERED BY QENOS PE PIPE
As coal seam gas becomes an increasingly important element of Australian gas supplies, PE pipes made from Qenos Alkadyne® PE100 are finding extensive use in gas pipeline systems.
In the development of coal seam gas fields in Queensland, HDPE pipe made from Qenos high density polyethylene has been used extensively to transport both gas and water.
Demand for Australian gas is growing, not only for export, but also by Australian customers including household use and for power generation due to its lower CO2 emissions.
Australia has two sources of natural gas – conventional natural gas fields, such as Bass Strait, Cooper Basin and North West Shelf and also coal seam gas (CSG). Coal seam gas is a natural gas trapped inside coal seams that are 300-600 metres below ground. Coal seam gas is different to conventional natural gas in that it is very pure (98 per cent methane) and practically ready for domestic use once extracted. Currently, the epicentre for coal seam gas in Australia is the Surat/Bowen Basin, which is near Dalby and Roma in South East Queensland.
In order to extract the coal seam gas many hundreds of wells need to be drilled into the coal seams which are then connected into a grid by black HDPE pipe, which is made from Qenos Alkadyne® PE100.
Not only is HDPE pipe required to transport the coal seam gas from the wells but a separate HDPE pipe is required to transport the waste water. This network of HDPE pipe extends over a very large area, given the large number of wells involved, which means thousands of kilometres of HDPE pipe.
Qenos is the sole Australian manufacturer of PE100 grades. With a long involvement in the Australian plastics and pipe industries, Qenos has exceptional technical capabilities in developing, testing and supplying materials for HDPE pipe. Qenos has been supplying PE100 materials for coal seam gas HDPE pipes for several years with demand increasing steadily.
Qenos Alkadyne® PE100 grades include HDF193B, which is ideal for the majority of PE100 pipe dimensions, and also HDF145B, which delivers exceptional low sag properties and throughput and is suitable for the most challenging pipe dimensions. These resins are recognised as world class PE100 resins and have both been used in gas piping applications. To ensure the suitability of the materials to make HDPE pipe, the state-of-the-art Qenos Technical Centre conducts polymer and mechanical testing. In this manner Qenos is able to certify the PE100 as meeting the requirements of AS4131 for PE100 pipe materials.
Overall the future looks bright for QenosAlkadyne® PE100 pipe as a trusted partner to developing coal seam gas in Australia.
Alkadyne PE100 Grades | Pipe Case Studies