A PRICELESS EXPERIENCE

PETROLIAM NASIONAL BERHAD (PETRONAS) IS WHOLLY OWNED BY THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT AND IS VESTED WITH THE ENTIRE OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF THE PETROLEUM RESOURCES IN MALAYSIA. IT HAS BECOME A FULLY-INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS CORPORATION AND IS RANKED AMONG FORTUNE GLOBAL 500’S LARGEST CORPORATIONS IN THE WORLD. IT IS ALSO THE SECOND BIGGEST SHAREHOLDER OF APA GROUP.

As part of our ongoing relationship with Petronas, we offer internships to young graduates to help them to gain valuable work experience, particularly in the field of engineering.

Ahmad is one of the interns who worked with us from December last year to the end of February 2009. He is in his 4th year of a Bachelor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. This is what he had to say about his time spent at APA…….

The time that I spent with APA’s Queensland Networks team was very beneficial for me. The experience provided me with valuable new knowledge, especially in the area of network modelling. I was assigned to assist the Strategic Planning Engineer to model the pressure and flow distribution for an area in Queensland. Doing this work helped me to understand the steps that need to be undertaken to complete the process as well as the assumptions that need to be made to be able to complete the task itself.

I was also able to learn about the operation of the Pressure Control Group. The job of this group is to monitor the network to ensure that overpressure doesn’t occur in the network, potentially causing damage to customer equipment downstream. They are also responsible for regulating the flow to suit the needs of APA’s customers.

Part of my work involved helping the Projects Group who are involved with the design of Natural Gas Piping. I was given the job of using the AS2885:5 standard to apply a checklist to ensure that the pipeline complied with the standard.

I was involved in other design processes, such as the pipeline design calculations, safety management study and other important processes to ensure that the pipeline construction occurs smoothly and the operation of the pipeline occurs safely. I was also given the opportunity by one of the Projects Engineers to participate in meetings with the stakeholders for a particular project.

The experience that I have gained with APA has given me a good introduction to the field I intend to work in which has prepared me for the next stage in my career.

I would like to thank Stevan Gajinov (Strategic Planning Engineer), Marshall Holmes and David Sharman (Pressure Control Group), Evan White and Paul Alexander (Projects Group) as well as a long list of other colleagues that I enjoyed working with whose names I could not include in this list. I hope to get another opportunity to learn from APA Group in the future.