AUSTRALIA’S first hyperbaric chamber testing facility has opened at the Australian Marine Complex at Henderson, WA, jointly funded by industry and the state government.
It is claimed the $1.2 million facility will deliver significant savings for local resources companies as it can be used to test subsea control modules and other sophisticated equipment, vital to the offshore oil and gas industry, that previously had to be sent overseas for inspection and repair. The WA Government says the hyperbaric facility will reduce the time for testing and repairs from four months to two weeks.
The project has been led by the Subsea Innovation Cluster Australia with industry partners Baker Hughes and Matrix Composites and Engineering, and is expected to be used by local, national and international companies.
WA premier Roger Cook said it made no sense to send parts overseas for testing, when it could be done locally, creating local jobs and delivering savings for local companies.
“The opening of this testing chamber is the first step towards a regional deep water testing facility for WA, putting us at the cutting edge of the global oil and gas sector,” Mr Cook said.
