Dampier Port Authority

Dampier Port Authority is on the threshold of a major expansion programme. Gay Sutton finds out from port development manager Dr Rochelle Macdonald how Australia’s second largest bulk export port is preparing to satisfy the export needs of the rapidly growing oil & gas and mining sectors.

If you think of the most exciting oil and gas development projects of recent years, names such as Gorgon, Wheatstone and Pluto are bound to spring to mind. And then you are thinking of Australia, a massive continent that already boasts some of the world’s most productive mineral resources. The eastern seaboard, the south-east and far south-west may be its most fertile regions, but it is Western Australia that is home to these three projects. The state generates almost 40 per cent of the country’s exports, and its output is growing. There are currently over $170 billion of major new resource projects either committed or under consideration in the state.

Now, look a little closer and it is the Pilbara region in Western Australia that will receive the majority of this investment. The region is already the state’s most productive, a fact that conceals a curious paradox. Pilbara is sparsely populated, boasting less than 0.2 per cent of the nation’s population, and yet it is considered to be the engine room of the Australian economy, responsible for approximately 20 per cent of the nation’s exports including various forms of gas from the massive oil and gas reserves off the north-west coast and iron ore from the mines.

Small wonder, then, that this volume of traffic requires the services of the nation’s second largest and the world’s third largest bulk export port, the Port of Dampier. Located on the north-west coast some 1,260 kilometres due north of the state capital Perth, the port has enjoyed phenomenal growth since its launch in 1963 when it was first constructed by Hamersley Iron (now Rio Tinto) to provide the export infrastructure to support its iron ore deposits some 320 kilometres inland at Mount Tom Price.

The importance of Dampier to the development of the Pilbara region is indisputable, and this was recognised in 1989 when the Dampier Port Authority (DPA) was formed to oversee maritime activities at the port, when the North West Shelf Venture LNG exports commenced.

Today, the port is a vital gateway for exports and imports into the Pilbara region. During the last financial year, Dampier handled $21.7 billion of goods and materials which included some $10.5 billion of iron ore for export, $7.4 billion of liquid natural gas (LNG), $1.3 billion of natural gas condensate and $1.4 billion of liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Other major products handled by the port included $515 million of anhydrous ammonia and $100 million of salt harvested from the salt plains close to the port, as well as $221.5 million of general cargo.

Over the last five years, trade through the port has grown at an average rate of 10 per cent per annum, and the projections show that growth is likely to continue as oil and gas production from the new offshore fields ramps up to full scale production, and iron ore production continues to expand. The Gorgon and Pluto projects are under development at the moment while Rio Tinto, still one of the region’s major operators, plans to increase output of iron ore from 220 million tonnes to a forecast 283 million tonnes by 2013.

The facilities at Dampier have grown over the years and currently include the seven-berth Dampier Cargo Wharf and the Dampier Bulk Liquids Berth operated by DPA, as well as a wide range of private facilities constructed and run by many of the port’s major clients such as Rio Tinto, Dampier Salt, Mermaid Marine Australia and Woodside.

The role of shaping the regional development strategy is something that DPA has been heavily involved with since its inception, in close partnership with industry, local communities and government. As part of its remit, it has formulated a long-term plan that analyses the optimal use of available land and infrastructure in and around the port through to 2060, looking particularly at the high value land in close proximity to the water, and then providing a strategy for the development of those assets. From this long-sighted perspective, DPA has produced the Port of Dampier Development Plan 2010-2020, launched late last year.  

The port is now gearing up for an ambitious programme of expansion. “The Dampier Cargo Wharf, for example, has been at near capacity since 2007,” explains port development manager, Dr Rochelle Macdonald. “We are currently in the process of securing final funding approval for the new Dampier Marine Services Facility (DMSF), which has been designed to meet the rapidly expanding needs of the offshore oil and gas industry as well as the mining, processing and infrastructure industries.”

The DMSF will more than double berthing capacity by providing an additional eight berths with facilities for vessels up to 65,000 DWT; an adjacent lay-down area equipped with general cargo handling facilities and storage sheds; a roll-on roll-off wharf; and upgraded heavy load-out and rock load-out facilities. Designed to accommodate a diverse range of users and uses, it will relieve the current berthing congestion at the port, improve operational efficiency and provide built-in redundancy, enabling activities to continue even in the event of failure or shutdown at the existing cargo wharf.

In addition to the construction of the DMSF, short-term plans include the development of an alternative water supply option for port users, upgrades to the road network to the Burrup peninsula and a truck marshalling area at the port. Meanwhile, oil and gas client Woodside is due to complete the construction and commissioning of a new LNG facility at Burrup LNG Park later this year, and will begin processing gas from its prestigious Pluto project and exporting it from its newly constructed LNG jetty.

Looking further into the future, assessment shows that the existing Dampier Bulk Liquids Berth will continue to have sufficient capacity for demand. Meanwhile the construction of the DMSF will certainly ease pressure and congestion in the short term, but with the Dampier Cargo Wharf due to be decommissioned in 2021 and forecasts for demand ranging from 10 to 17 berths, the pressure is likely to continue.

The lack of new land available and ready for industrial use within the port boundaries is something of a challenge, but the DPA has identified a number of options. “We do have areas which could be rationalised to yield more space, and there are developed sites that could be used more efficiently,” Macdonald says. “For example, the road network within the port has the potential to be rationalised to improve both access and transport circulation, and to provide physical separation between the various activities and precincts. We also have rugged and precipitous areas that represent possible opportunities for levelling and conversion to developable sites, but noting that there are significant heritage sites in the area to also be taken into account.” There is also the option for further land reclamation, to extend the foreshore into the open waters of Mermaid Sound.

“We are also looking to expand the boundaries of our responsibility,” Macdonald says. DPA has become involved in two exciting port developments elsewhere in the West Pilbara region: firstly, at Ashburton North, some 11 kilometres south-west of Onslow, plans are currently being drawn up for a new 8,000 hectare strategic industrial area large enough to accommodate major LNG developments. “Chevron is investigating the site to commercialise its Wheatstone gas discovery, while BHP Billiton Petroleum and ExxonMobil are considering using the site to develop their Scarborough discovery,” she continues. “The site will include a port precinct with multi-user facilities on the coastal strip and a multi-use infrastructure corridor.”

The second development is the new industrial precinct and port proposed for Anketell, 30 kilometres east of Karratha. The aim is to provide deepwater iron ore port facilities to complement those of Dampier and Hedland. And having played a key role in the planning process, DPA will ultimately manage the new port and infrastructure corridors.

Finally, the port is keen to play a more active role in promoting collaboration in port activities across the state. “We have recently expanded our Perth office and our vision for this is to foster a regional port centre for Western Australia, to build camaraderie between fellow Western Australian ports and to provide an invaluable opportunity to share knowledge and skills, particularly in planning and development. The dedicated team of men and women of DPA have the capacity to deliver outstanding results over the next five years (and beyond) as we think big, think smart, and think future in our decision making, our customer service and our new initiatives.” http://www.dpa.wa.gov.au/