MEDIA RELEASE
6 April 2006

The Interrogator




Residents of the Bluff, Wentworth, Austerville and Merebank may have noticed this unusual sight recently along the main roads in their neighbourhoods. The equipment, which looks like a lawnmower, is called an "Interrogator" and is being used to gather data for SAPREF's petroleum pipeline replacement project.

The Interrogator is a ground penetrating radar system. Its hardware, such as radar electronics and antenna, is contained in the two-wheel cart with a laptop computer mounted on the cart handle. It uses the antenna to send and receive electromagnetic waves beneath the ground surface to detect buried services such as water pipes and electric cables in the petroleum pipeline servitude. These are reflected as radar signals which create 2-D images on the computer indicating the location and depth of the existing underground services.

The services are then physically located by excavating trenches at regular intervals along the servitude. The exact position of existing underground services is essential information which SAPREF will use in the detailed planning for replacing their seven transfer pipelines from the refinery at Prospecton to the harbour at Island View.

For more information contact:
Margaret Rowe
Communications Manager
SAPREF
Tel: 480 1892
Cell: 082 880 4905
email: margaret.rowe@sapref.com