Mitigating supply risk in hydrocarbon processing for Australian companies
Energy’s centrality to Australia’s economic growth is well recognised, and the importance of securing an uninterrupted energy supply vital for numerous local businesses where hydrocarbon processing is part of their supply chain. Examples of hydrocarbon processing are found in the compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquified natural gas (LNG) sectors. Specialty gases as utilised in the hydrocarbon process for safety, process control and compliance, have historically been imported into Australia, however, global supply chain issues are now affecting Australian companies that have traditionally relied on overseas suppliers. Steps to safeguard supply security include generating awareness of domestic specialty gas production to ensure a more energy-secure future for Australian businesses.
Coregas is the only Australian industrial gases company manufacturing locally and distributing specialty gases throughout Australia and New Zealand, including calibration gases, chemical gases, process gases, purging/inerting gases, electronic gases and instrumentation gases.
“No other sector Coregas serves has such a diverse and precise range of requirements, and we have invested many years in developing our quality product range, certification, expertise and responsiveness to serve the needs of this industry,” said Alan Watkins, Executive General Manager at Coregas in Australia.
Forecast to grow at a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9%, specialty gases are critical in Australia, being used in industries ranging from heavy industry and manufacturing, to healthcare and laboratories.
“The global supply chain continues to be impacted by current devastating events and recovery from Covid-19 lockdowns. These world events are increasing global supply chain pressures with significant shipping delays, increased freight costs, forex fluctuations and shutdown of factories. Producer prices are also expected to soar and to flow onto the end consumer. Without access to specialty gases, businesses are being forced to stop operation as they are unable to calibrate and certify their plant equipment is operating correctly,” said Watkins.
“As an Australian gas manufacturer which meets all Australian and globally recognised standards, Coregas can ensure supply of critical specialty gases with comparatively significantly less lead time compared to importing. For example, a 20-parts component hydrocarbon gas mixture can be produced within three weeks locally compared to three months from importing. It makes sense to support local Australian businesses.”
Coregas supplies a range of specialty gases and related gas control equipment used in the hydrocarbon processing industry. Applications include high purity gases for laboratory analysers; ISO17034 accredited calibration gas mixtures for emissions monitoring and process control; bump test gases for gas detection safety equipment and high precision gas control equipment to deliver gases securely from the cylinder to point of use.
Coregas’ pedigree in specialty gases for hydrocarbon processing applications is unrivalled in Australia. “The Coregas team has been Australia’s specialty gases experts for over 25 years. We have more than 100 years of accumulated experience in our team of NATA-approved signatories for our ISO17025 and ISO17034 accreditations,” says Watkins. In addition, Coregas’ sales and customer service teams both have experts dedicated to specialty gases who can assist with technical queries and offer product selection advice. It is this level of expertise, along with Coregas’ Australian made gases, speed of delivery, and package sizes that differentiates them from other suppliers.
In other hydrocarbon processing applications such as crude oil refining, it is common to use liquid mixtures to calibrate analytical instrumentation. Coregas’ broad range of hydrocarbons can be used to produce liquid hydrocarbon mixtures in cylinders. The huge range of specialty gases that Coregas can offer to various hydrocarbon processing operations are, importantly, Australian-made. “We produce the gas components for many of them at our air separation unit located in Port Kembla,” said Watkins. “From those pure gases, we then fill a range of high purity gases or gas mixtures in cylinders in our advanced technology laboratory in Yennora. From this location, near Sydney, we transport the gas cylinders to locations across the country, and export to international markets.”
In the environmental monitoring and analytical calibration market, speed of delivery is often as important as quality. Coregas has standardised certain high volume products to be made from stock and are available for despatch next day. Coregas has also tailored its production and ordering processes for calibration gases that are made to order to ensure conformance to customer bespoke requirements, to minimise the wait time for delivery.
Package size is a critical, and often forgotten aspect of the specialty gas supply chain. “For the laboratory, a larger floor-standing calibration gas mixture (G size) cylinder will be preferred. This allows the technician to run as many tests as possible from a single cylinder,” said Watkins. “For in situ testing, users prefer portable cylinders. For these smaller packages we now find that there is market preference for high pressure refillable gas cylinders because they are much more environmentally sustainable than so-called ‘disposable’ cylinders.”
The move towards buying locally has never been more important for Australian companies, as supply chain issues put critical capabilities at risk. Coregas has jumped at the challenge to meet the demands of Australian specialty gas users and actively encourages businesses to reduce the risks from future disruptions that are certain to occur, and mitigate global supply chain risks by buying Australian.