Date: May 11, 2023

The CRC-P Flexible Flowlines Technical Kick-Off meeting took place on Wednesday, May 3, at Melbourne Connect, The University of Melbourne. The meeting marked the initiation of the project aimed at delivering innovative upcycling solutions for decommissioned flexible subsea flowlines. The audience consisted of industry partners representatives (Austech Infrastructure, Woodside Energy and Shelf Subsea), representative from the Department of Industries, Science, and Resources and the researchers participating in the project. Their attendance demonstrated the collective commitment and interest in advancing the project’s goals.

The meeting commenced with presentation by Project Director Mr Fatah Mostamandi from Austech providing a brief overview of the CRC-P project in light of CoRR (Centre of Recovered Resources), introducing the opportunities to the other industry partners and example projects.

The meeting progressed with an introduction of the research team led by the University of Melbourne and a detailed presentation on the project overview. Environmental considerations, including the carbon footprint, were discussed, along with strategies for sustainable practices related to the end-of-life flowlines. Further presentations explored the possibilities of transforming steel components into fibers for concrete, the conversion of polymers to value-add materials such as graphene and other possibilities.

Participants engaged in discussions regarding reliability and scalability issues when it comes to implementation of the project at the industrial scale.