Pipelines - Safety
Licensed oil and gas transmission pipelines are designed, constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with Australian Standard AS 2885 - Pipelines - Gas and liquid petroleum:
- Part 1 - Design and construction
- Part 2 - Welding
- Part 3 - Operation and maintenance
- Part 4 - Submarine pipelines
- Part 5 - Field pressure testing
Other licensed pipelines may be designed to standards approved by the Director-General of the Department; however, operation will be in accordance with AS2885 Part 3.
Under the Pipelines Act 1967 and the Pipelines Regulation 2005 all Pipeline Licensees are required to lodge a Safety and Operating Plan (SOP) with the Department.
The Pipelines Regulation requires the SOP to comply with the requirements set out under AS 2885 Part 3 Operation and Maintenance. The Pipelines Regulation also requires for Pipeline Licensee to monitor their performance and procedures by conducting periodical independent third party audits of their Safety and Operating Plan.
The Auditor is required to certify the SOP and the Pipeline Licensee must lodge the Auditor's Report and Certificate with the Director-General of the Department. The Pipeline Licensee is required to specify how and within what time frame they will address any issues found by the Auditor.
The Auditor's Report and Pipeline Licensee's proposed corrective actions are reviewed by Department staff to ensure the pipeline safety performance remains acceptable.
Performance reporting
The Pipelines Regulation 2005 requires all Pipeline Licensees to lodge an Annual Report on the performance of the pipeline safety management system. The Report is to comply with the reporting template below:
- NSW Licensed Pipeline Performance Report Guidelines 2012 (42 kb, PDF)
- Licensed pipeline performance reporting template (56 kb, XLS)
These reports are reviewed by Department staff to ensure the pipeline safety performance remains acceptable. A whole-of-state report is then produced from this information. The reports are accessible from the links below:
