The most cost effective ways of keeping costs down are to use thinner walled, high strength steel pipelines, and to build them very rapidly so as to minimise the construction costs. Both of these methods are possible, but they both pose challenges to the welding process used to join the pipes together in the field.

The CRC for Welded Structures (CRC-WS) has carried out research and field trials which have helped the industry to rise to these challenges. By way of an example of what has been achieved, the recent pipeline from Ballera in south-western Queensland to Mt Isa was constructed at up to 8km per day, which is nearly 500 welds per day. The CRC-WS research made a major contribution to this by establishing safe limits to the parameters which govern welding speed and joint cycle time, and by ensuring that the greater demands upon the weld when welding very high strength steel were also met.

The participants in the CRC include ANSTO, the Australian Pipeline Industry Association, BHP, CIGWELD, CSIRO, DSTO, Pacific Power, TWI, four universities and the Welding Technology Institute of Australia. As a result of their work, the gas supply industry has been saved - according to an independent estimate - more than $110m in the medium term; and these savings mean lower tariffs and consequent savings for Australian industry.

The savings are also important in allowing otherwise marginal projects to be viable. Projects such as the Eastern Gas Pipeline from Bass Strait to Sydney and the Papua New Guinea to Queensland pipeline have been favourably affected by the economies arising from these new technological approaches.

Many postgraduate students as well as experienced engineers from Australia and overseas have taken part in the CRC's research, including experts from pipeline manufacturers and the welding industry as well as the producers and distributors of natural gas. As a consequence, the expertise being developed through the Centre's work is also becoming widely available and the number of highly skilled engineers in the field is growing.