A jolly good fellow

Panorama of centralised jet pump facility in Dullingari, just near the SA and QLD border in the Cooper Basin.

Recently appointed Fellow of Engineers Australia James Czornohalan speaks to The Australian Pipeliner about his personal history in the pipeline industry, experience with the association, and how he climbed the leadership ranks.

Engineers Australia is the trusted voice of the engineering profession and the global home for engineering experts recognised for their contributions to shaping the built world. Becoming a Fellow is an elevation in the ranks to the highest level of Engineers Australia membership appointment. It carries with it a recognition of eminence within the profession.

Fellows are deemed experienced, knowledgeable and invaluable to the global engineering community, and their expertise makes a difference to the profession and its next generation of practitioners.

In 2021, James Czornohalan was recognised as a Fellow of Engineers Australia. Czornohalan has over 20 years of oil and gas pipeline experience across design, operation, integrity, safety and construction. He has designed several pipelines including upstream flow lines and trunk lines, midstream transmission pipelines and downstream pipelines, having also spent several years in pipeline operations and integrity with Epic Energy and Santos.

He is now a senior associate/consulting engineer at Advisian. As part of the Worley Group, Advisian is deeply committed to resolving the world’s energy, resource and infrastructure challenges. Closely affiliated with the APGA, Advisian is a proud member of the APGA Research and Standards Committee.

“Engineering is the basis of the enviable safety record enjoyed by the Australian pipeline industry,” says Czornohalan, who first entered the industries as a vacationer for Engineering and Water Supply Department (now SA Water) in the early 1990s.

“When I look back, I am amazed at the scope they gave me: checking drawings, witnessing pressure tests, project engineering and running site meetings. I really loved it.” As a graduate, Czornohalan worked at Epic Energy for six years. “I was very fortunate to work for some

James Czornohalan, Fellow, Engineers Australia.

legends of the pipeline industry, who gave me a lot of scope to get out to the field and learn,” he explains. “I haven’t been too far away from the pipeline industry since.”

Community has been an important backbone of Czornohalan’s nearly 30-year journey. “The pipeline industry is a great one, and what makes it particularly great is the people in it. If it weren’t for the work of APGA as a conduit, it would be impossible to form the relationships that this industry runs on.”

Czornohalan has made significant contributions to the wider pipeline industry as a member of various committees, an industry advisor and standards convenor. “My favourite part of this career has been the involvement in various research projects, and membership of standards committee ME 38.1, of which I am now the convenor.

“I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to have worked for very supportive employers – Epic Energy, Fyfe and now Advisian – who have seen the value in this work and afforded me the time

Coonaberry 1 Gas Flowline, North of Ballera in South West Queensland. James Czornohalan at the APGA Annual Convention Dinner, Adelaide 2014.

to volunteer. I grew up in the Scouts, so contribution to my community is one of my most important values, so it is an honour to receive some recognition for doing this.”

Czornohalan has played a significant role in building up a resource entitled Public Safety in the Pipeline Industry – An Engineering Practice Guide. This is a concise, easy-to-follow document that uses real-life examples and case studies to provide the best public safety outcomes for operators in the pipeline industry.

“Our safety record means that we are often out of sight, out of mind for most of the public at large, which is a good thing. However, that doesn’t mean that the decision makers in Canberra should forget the work that we do. That is where having an association like the APGA as a voice for us is so important,” he says.

Czornohalan began working in the industry in the mid 90s, just as email and the world wide web were changing the work environment. “It’s remarkable, I don’t feel that old, but when you consider that most of us Gen X types managed to get a university degree without any access to the internet, maybe we are,” he says.

“A lot has changed, but a lot is still the same: it’s still great people doing impressive work building and operating pipelines to provide the energy that society runs on. In the future, the contents of our pipelines will change from fossil fuels to renewably sourced, but pipelines will remain as the best way to move large volumes of energy safely and efficiently.”

For more information visit www.engineersaustralia.org.au