new heights

WORLDWIDE HEAVY TRANSPORTATION AND LIFTING
Project Focus
PROGRESSION WITH OIL SANDS PROJECT
IN CANADA
ALE’s joint venture in Canada has been
hard at work at an oil sands project in
northern Alberta, Canada.
In 2015, the company was awarded
an onsite heavy lift and haul scope
including the installation of over 300
modules, specifically within the utilities
and off-sites area of the project. The
personnel and equipment were initially
mobilised to the site in the autumn of 2015
and have since been busy transporting and
installing modules and tagged equipment.
There is a dedicated team working directly
at the site, including safety officers,
supervisors, operators, drivers, engineers,
administration, and project management.
The company are currently operating two
750t crawler cranes and one 500t crawler
crane, each fitted with wheeled superlift
carriers, as well as a 90t rough terrain
crane and 2 x 12 axle lines of hydraulic
platform trailer with prime movers.
In addition to the cranes and hydraulic
platform trailers, we have introduced
our own Modular Lifting System at the
project. The system is a piece of rigging
apparatus, designed by the engineering
department, which replaces the traditional
rigging assemblies commonly utilised on
projects in the region. The efficiency and
ease of use of the system has been proven
on site. It’s ability to self-adjust to match
the Centre of Gravity of each load without
dis-assembly, allows the project to reduce
time spent on each lift. This aspect of the
system is of great benefit to the project,
as the scope includes the placement of
over 300 modules. The modules weigh
up to as much as 175,000 kg each.
The full duration of the scope requires
the personnel and equipment to operate
in all seasons and weather conditions,
with temperatures between -40°c in the
winter months and up to 30°c in summer.
The spring of 2016 brought with it a
devastating forest fire, which forced the
temporary closure and evacuation of the
site. In support of emergency response
efforts, the site suspended construction
activity to support camp and flight logistics
for people displaced. The project has
since been ramped back up to planned
workforce levels.
Since returning to the site in June, the
personnel and equipment have been
working diligently to assist the client in
retaining the module installation schedule.
“This project has been an exceptional
display of our capacity to execute in a
safe, professional and effective manner,
whilst focusing on best-in-class service,
quality, management and innovation,”
said Jonathan Hayden, Tendering Manager.
STAR PERFORMANCE AS AL.SK190 CRANE DELIVERS PROJECT
EFFICIENCIES IN TURKEY
One of the world’s largest capacity land based cranes, the
AL.SK190, was contracted to perform over 10 super heavy lifts
in Turkey.
The primary milestone was achieved in June when the crane
performed its first lifts, handling and installing two critical
components delivered at the greenfield petrochemical site in Aliağ
a, Izmir province in Turkey. ALE used the mighty AL.SK190 crane
to upright a 600t vacuum tower and an 800t crude column, lifting
them over a 20m high pipe rack and placing them safely into their
final positions. The tallest item measured over 80m.
The final lifts involved the product fractionator, weighing 850t and
measuring 76m long, which was installed at 103m radius, as well
as the reactor lifts, with the heaviest project lift of 1,120t.
Project Manager Jose Angel Morquillas commented: “Our
innovative AL.SK190 crane is a unique event for Turkey. The
ALE-designed crane was the perfect match for the STAR Aegean
Refinery Project (ARP), as it enabled huge planning optimisations
with regards to civil works, piping and the installation of loadbearing
structures before the arrival of the critical components.
“In today’s competitive market, this type of equipment is mostly
being fabricated and shipped from overseas. The selected crane
configuration allowed the foundations, chimney, pipe racks,
substations and compressor buildings to be constructed well in
advance of the arrival and installation of the heavy equipment.
“In addition to the on-site preparatory works, the owners, project
developers and EPC-contractor were able to fine-tune and adapt the
initial logistics strategy and budget as a direct result of the AL.SK190
capabilities.”
ALE PROGRESS WITH SARB4 PROJECT IN UAE
ALE is operating on one of the largest offshore projects, SARB4,
which is currently under construction offshore in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
ALE are executing the weighing, land and marine transportation,
lifting and installation as well as the engineering, ballasting and sea
fastening for an offshore oil field project that is located about 140km
northwest of Abu Dhabi, UAE.
ALE’s UAE branch were awarded an 18-month turnkey project,
contracted to deliver numerous pipe rack, process modules and
substations, weighing between 170t –1,700t, from Mina Zayed
Port and various fabrication yards via the Arabian Gulf, to the
project site on Zirku Island.
During this project, ALE will be using a variety of different
techniques, from weighing, land and marine transportation,
to load-ins, load-outs and barge chartering and installations.
Furthermore, ALE will be utilising a variety of heavylift cranes
and transport equipment including ALE barges, SPMTs and
crawler cranes.
Shafic Tillawi, Project Manager for ALE, commented: “This is
one of the largest offshore projects in which ALE’s Middle East
region has been involved. By providing multiple trips offshore
for super heavy lifts, as well as a full package of services and
techniques, it demonstrates our overall capabilities. As we
approach the next stage, we are preparing to handle and load-out
larger and more challenging modules, with some modules as
heavy as 1,700t.”
Satah al-Razboot (SARB) offshore oil field is expected to add an
additional 100,000 barrels per day of oil to the overall oil production
capacity of UAE upon commissioning in 2016. The islands will serve
as bases for drilling the oilfield and eliminate the use of offshore
rigs. The project will involve drilling of 86 oil wells. Oil drilled from
the wells will be transferred via a subsea pipeline to a new facility
to be built on Zirku Island for processing, storage and export. The
processing facility at Zirku Island will have a capacity of 200,000
barrels of oil per day.
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