Pipeline pioneers cover all bases

Mitchell Water team onsite.

The pipeline pioneers that cover all bases

Mitchell Water Australia has built some of the country’s largest water and coal seam gas (CSG) projects, comprising over 25,000 km of pipe together with pumping stations, treatment plants, dams, storages and infrastructure. The company now has its own subsidiaries and in-house capability in surveying, fabrication, testing and commissioning, as well as an extensive list of patents.

Founded in the 1970s by Lyell Mitchell, the company was previously known as L.G. Mitchell and Sons. Today, Mitchell Water has grown to become Australia's leading specialist pipeline contractor, with a proven capacity to perform innovative design and construct solutions.

Lyell’s son Wayne Mitchell, who is still serving as the company’s Managing Director today, took over in 1985 and built the business up by gradually taking on bigger projects. Between 1981 and 1995 in the early period of the company’s history, Mitchell’s installed water, sewer, slurry, drainage, and gas pipelines for local councils and contractors.

In 1999, Wayne Mitchell put his faith in a young engineer Rob Shelton. Starting as a project manager, Shelton played an integral part in the business’s growth and evolution, with a particular focus on the construction of turnkey pipeline projects. The team expanded not long after to include Lee Briggs, furthering the construction business to include design, engineering and complete project management. Both continue to hold key executive

Mitchell’s turnkey capabilities include a complete design and construct service, drawing on its wealth of experience to ensure enhanced pipeline survey, design, construction, commissioning, and operations.

positions today, with Shelton the General Manager and Briggs the Engineering Manager.

Mitchell leads the way in innovation, having developed and patented a range of specialist pipeline construction equipment, including trenchers, ploughs, weld-barges, spoil screens and bedding & padding plant to ensure a value for money solution that delivers projects on-time.

The company offers its clients solutions that optimise their projects both during construction and in ongoing operational costs. Mitchell’s turnkey capabilities include a complete design and construct service, drawing on its wealth of experience to ensure enhanced pipeline survey, design, construction, commissioning, and operations.

Mitchell Water has an enviable track record in the construction of long distance water pipelines. Its milestone project, which commenced in 2006, was the Wimmera Mallee Pipelines Project. Still the biggest Australian water pipeline project to date, it comprises some 9,000 km of pipeline and spans 10 per cent of Victoria.

From 1998, the company broadened its horizons to include gas pipelines, and on to coal seam and gas (CSG) works in 2012.

Mitchell has commenced a contract of work in South West Queensland, supplying and installing HDPE gathering pipelines connecting to existing natural gas processing facilities. The scope of works includes pigging to wellheads, underground trenching and pipeline installation in the Surat Basin.

According to General Manager Rob Shelton, supporting local communities is an important part of Mitchell’s culture, furthering its commitment to regional and indigenous employment.

Managing director Wayne Mitchell, circa 2000. Mitchell Water has installed over 25,000 km of pipe and pumping stations, treatment plants, dams, storages and infrastructure today.

Since operating its operational base in Roma in 2012, Mitchell Water has continued to construct water and gas pipelines throughout the state.

In 2011, Mitchell purchased Sadlier Surveying – a survey business that it had worked with since the 1970s. This bolstered the company’s design and construct capabilities. With over 40 years’ expertise in water and gas pipelines, electricity and roads, the survey team has vast experience having worked throughout Australia and the Asia Pacific.

In 2014, fabrication business Westmain Aust joined Mitchell, enabling it manufacture its own fittings and assemblies for pump stations, buildings and well pads, controlling quality and ensuring on-time delivery. The experienced team at Westmain thinks outside the box and allows Mitchell to continually improve its innovative patented plant and pipeline installation systems.

Infield Energy Services (IES) is a new business established in 2021 to provide specialist services in the oil, gas and utilities industries. Focusing on safe and cost-effective pipeline construction and maintenance. Its services and solutions include critical testing and commissioning services to some of Australia's leading oil and gas businesses.

Today, Mitchell has operations across Eastern Australia, including Roma, QLD; Hamilton Plains, QLD; Buronga, NSW; Bacchus Marsh, VIC; Brisbane, QLD; and Angaston, SA. The company’s new head office at World Trade Centre in Docklands, Melbourne, is helping the company to reach a wider net of prospective clients and further promote the company’s growth.

For more information visit www.mitchellwater.com.au