When it comes to logistics, planning is of course paramount. But it’s also important to be able to adapt, react and respond to the situation unfolding on the ground.

This was particularly true for the Thai Oil Sriracha Refinery project.

The site itself is surrounded on all sides – by a forest on one side, the community of Sriracha on the other, as well as by a complex transport network. Heavily congested, and with a finite amount of space available, the engineering packages had to arrive in a particular order for installation – a challenge in itself.

But as they say, the best-laid plans go astray. When the pandemic struck, the team had to think on their feet and respond to lots of moving parts.

“The modules were being built in different places: China, India, Philippines, Thailand,” explains Logistics Manager Sindhu Dasan. “Each country enforced lockdowns at different times, so we didn’t know what modules were going to be ready when, and our plans were in turmoil. We had to create another sequence, and there were then daily and weekly changes depending on what could shipped.”

While the effects of the pandemic have somewhat eased and the team are three quarters of the way through deliveries, there have been other logistical challenges on the project.

Let’s take a look at some of the other unique factors that required precision planning – and sometimes a backup plan.

Adam Cheesman is marking one year since moving to Perth in Australia permanently from the UK. As Operations Director he was tasked with growing our business in the region.

“I was sitting in Aberdeen 18 months ago, finalising the strategy for the market entry of our Operations business and growth of the overall business,” he recalls. “To be sat here now and looking back over the past year, we have achieved what we set out to do despite the challenges that Covid-19 has thrown at us.

“We now have a stronger business after putting the foundations for growth in place, we‘ve increased our brand recognition, we have a team that is growing to meet the demands of the new work we have secured. We’re on the right path.”

THERE’S OPPORTUNITIES APLENTY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, AND WE’RE WELL PLACED TO SEIZE THEM – AS OPERATIONS DIRECTOR ADAM CHEESMAN AND REGIONAL DIRECTOR JOSIE PHILIPS EXPLAIN

The world’s highest waves are thought to be formed in the Atlantic Ocean, south of Iceland, which then come barrelling down the North Sea. The highest single wave ever measured by a fixed installation anywhere in the world was in the North Sea on January 1, 1995 – a terrifying 25.6 metres, three times the size of the tsunami waves that devastated Sri Lanka and Thailand in 2004. So when TenneT entrusted Petrofac with the contracts to design, supply and install the substations for their massive offshore wind farm projects in the North Sea, perhaps the most vital element was the substructure, or jacket, that will need to support the substations for the next 30 years.

Anchored to the seabed, jackets resemble giant, multi-legged, rectangular tables. They’re made to provide a stable, secure and long-lasting base for new high-voltage electricity substations.

For the jackets completed and shipped for the HKZ project this means being able to withstand the worst the North Sea can throw at them.

The jacket trays – or ‘cable decks’ - are the surfacing point for the underwater cables (J-tubes) carrying power from offshore wind turbines into the substations. The substations then ramp up the voltage and transmit it to a land station to be distributed to the relevant national grid.

DESIGNED TO LAST
The process starts with a huge amount of computer analysis and simulation, says Lead Structural Engineer Anand Balasubramanian.

“Each jacket design is unique and there are many variable parameters. We factor into our calculations all the environmental loads and site conditions specific to each location, including water depth, soil type, waves, winds and currents – and how these might change over the next century.”

This data is then used to design the jacket, determine how many piles will be needed for the foundations, what size they need to be and how deep below the seabed they must penetrate. The HKZ jackets, for example, at 50 metres long, 34 metres wide and 44 metres high, are anchored to the seabed by six piles, each weighing 162.5 tonnes. They are buried up to 50 metres deep in the sea bed.

“We also factor in scenarios like, what if a ship collided with our structure?  Our simulation enables us to design a jacket that could withstand such a force,” says Anand.

The design also takes into account the fact that the jackets will be loaded onto transportation barges, how long the voyage will be and the potential movement of the barge in the waves from side to side and up and down. Whether the jackets can travel in a vertical or horizontal position (depending on height clearance in the Suez Canal, for example) also has a bearing on the initial design and fabrication sequence.

A major influence is the intended lifespan of the jackets. In the case of the HKZ jacket, that is around 30 years – with minimal maintenance. The platforms will not be manned, so any offshore repairs would be extremely expensive.

“Finally, we have to design each jacket and its foundations in a construction and installation-friendly way. It’s no good coming up with a clever design that ticks all the technical boxes if it’s too complicated or costly to make or put in position,” says Anand.

When it comes to logistics, planning is of course paramount. But it’s also important to be able to adapt, react and respond to the situation unfolding on the ground.

This was particularly true for the Thai Oil Sriracha Refinery project.

The site itself is surrounded on all sides – by a forest on one side, the community of Sriracha on the other, as well as by a complex transport network. Heavily congested, and with a finite amount of space available, the engineering packages had to arrive in a particular order for installation – a challenge in itself.

But as they say, the best-laid plans go astray. When the pandemic struck, the team had to think on their feet and respond to lots of moving parts.

“The modules were being built in different places: China, India, Philippines, Thailand,” explains Logistics Manager Sindhu Dasan. “Each country enforced lockdowns at different times, so we didn’t know what modules were going to be ready when, and our plans were in turmoil. We had to create another sequence, and there were then daily and weekly changes depending on what could shipped.”

While the effects of the pandemic have somewhat eased and the team are three quarters of the way through deliveries, there have been other logistical challenges on the project.

Let’s take a look at some of the other unique factors that required precision planning – and sometimes a backup plan.

PREPARING THE MODULES FOR TRANSPORTATION

The logistics involved in transporting two giant modules illustrate some of the careful planning required. The first module was the Radiant section of the Steam Methane Reformer package, an integral part of the Hydrogen Manufacturing Unit (HMU) of the refinery and fabricated in China. It was too big for transportation, so it was cut in half at the fabrication yard to be transported as two separate units. The two units were then welded back together at site. Another was Petrofac’s heaviest module on the project, the Pipe Bridge Rack (PBR-109-301) – weighing in at 1,030 metric tonnes and 27m in height. Fabricated in India, the module was too tall for shipping, so its leg columns were cut, and the module lowered at the yard. It was then raised to the required height at site. The original ground plan stipulated that the Pipe Bridge Rack module had to be transported before the Reformer module (check why?). However, halfway through fabrication, the team realised the latter would be ready first. They immediately drew up alternate plans to move the module after the Reformer was installed and work around it.

1

FROM SHIP TO BARGE

After the first shipment in 2021, the team discovered that the main commercial port they’d planned to use was heavily congested, so they decided to ship some modules to the nearby Kerry Siam Seaport, as well as a Thai Navy port. Using Kerry Siam port required an unconventional operation, involving meticulous planning and extensive engineering. Modules are usually placed on a jetty first before being put on a barge; here the modules were transported directly from the ship to the barge, as the jetty was too high, designed for huge cargo ships. The ship transporting the modules and the barge had to be connected alongside each other to move the modules; both the vessels were kept in position by two high powered tugs in case of any bad weather or squalls. The ‘double handling’ operation meant the modules could be immediately taken to the offloading facility, thus helping the schedule.

Luckily, the team had also decided to use standardised barges that were able to cope with any size of module from the outset. So, if one module was delayed, another module could be put on the same barge, giving the team much-needed flexibility. “It was done without knowing about Covid, but it helped hugely when modules arrived out of sequence. It was much easier to manage and we didn’t need to need to worry about which barges were available for which modules,” added Sindhu.

2

GOING THROUGH THE PROPER CHANNEL  

The next leg of sea travel of the modules was equally critical, even though the duration was only two hours. The fully loaded barges were pulled and escorted by four local tugs through a dredged channel to the refinery’s marine offloading facility. Dredging a channel was one of five options proposed in the FEED to offload the modules in the shallow water near the site; other options included using floating barges or building two jetties, but dredging was found to be the most practical and simplest solution, and was recommended by the Petrofac team. “It was a narrow passage in an area with oil pipelines and used by local fisherman – the channel was 80 metres wide and a barge is 36 metres wide,” explains Sindhu. “The local pilot kept two more tugs on standby near the jetty to ensure the barges didn’t stray outside the designated area and become grounded. Sector port and starboard lights positioned at various locations on land also guided the pilot and tug masters. It was another complex operation.”

3

BACK ON DRY LAND   

After being offloaded, the modules were transported 5km by land to the refinery by self-propelled modular trailers (SPMT), a journey which took around four hours through the heart of the local community. The route had to be modified and widened in parts beforehand, and it was tested with the maximum load it was expected to cope with. The movement of each module along the route was then simulated in a 2D model, the exact steps of the trailers carefully mapped out from the marine offloading facility to the installation location onsite. The route itself was lined with houses and a beach near the marine offloading facility was regularly used by locals. So, the team considered the noise levels of the trailers and agreed with the local community that they wouldn’t transport the modules at certain times, for instance, at the weekends.

4

THE OFFICE HAS NURTURED AND IS STILL NURTURING THE ENGINEERS OF THE FUTURE  

Seventeen years ago, Chitra Prakash was selected in the first batch of graduate trainees to join the Mumbai office’s process department. “The process department was being set up,” she recalls. “We were initially sent to Sharjah for training and since then I’ve progressed from graduate engineer to design engineer to principal engineer. I’m currently senior principal engineer, handling the close-out activities for two projects, a Gathering Centre in Kuwait and a Central Processing Facility project in Algeria. The journey has been wonderful.” She says she works with a close-knit team: “If I have any concerns, I can easily discuss them with the team, and they are ready to help me out any time.” While many of her colleagues are stalwarts of the Mumbai office, Swarali Katdare, Design Engineer, joined just three years ago. Petrofac was looking for graduate trainee engineers, but as Swarali already had a few months of experience at another company following university, a new position of graduate engineer was created for her. “I’ve always been passionate about mechanical engineering; in school there was no back-up plan. I said I want to do this and I will be doing it. So, Petrofac has been a dream company for me. Seeing the impact we make on society is rewarding – I can actually show my family what I’ve helped to design. It’s incredible, we design 63 metre tall columns and I’m not even 6ft!”

5

COLLEAGUES HAVE CYCLED 8,000 KM AROUND INDIA, FROM MUMBAI TO GOA, KANYAKUMARI, KOLKATA, DELHI, AND BACK TO MUMBAI      

Rajendra Dusharekar’s journey with Petrofac began in 1998. As well as Mumbai he’s had stints in Sharjah and on site in Abu Dhabi, Iran and Kuwait, offering non-technical support across projects with a focus on quality. He returned to the Mumbai office in 2005 and now leads the administration department as manager. This means he’s also involved in many different activities like organising events. “I’m happy to take on challenges and I always want to help people and can never say no,” he says. With Pramod, he is part of the office’s cycling team, which does regular bike rides across the country – they will be cycling 800 miles around Gujarat in December. He’s always been keen on keeping fit, also taking part in the Mumbai marathon for five years in a row. “It’s important to balance your work life, family life and personal life,” he says.

6

THERE’S ALWAYS TIME FOR YOGA, TOO     

There has always been a strong focus on health, wellbeing and corporate social responsibility in the office. There’s regular interdisciplinary cricket competitions and soccer tournaments. Over the years, many colleagues have taken part in treks in the mountain range near Mumbai called the Western Ghats. Single-use plastic is now banned in the office with all colleagues supplied with metal water bottles. More recently, Sharad – aware of the dangers of sedentary lifestyles – has encouraged colleagues to take time out at 11am and 3pm to do yoga and stretching exercises in the office hall.

7

THE PERFECT FIT
Dimension control is a key specialist task. The HKZ jackets and topsides, for example, are constructed in separate yards and  won’t come together until they are positioned offshore – by which time of course it would be too late, certainly too expensive, to correct any misalignment.

“We took zero chances,” says Project Quality Manager Mostafa Henawy. “They have to be a perfect fit and the experts were able to test this in both yards by real time analysis  using virtual assembly software “Spatial Analyzer”.”

Mostafa has been on site from day one, acting as the liaison point between subcontractor and client.  “The client well defined requirements and was closely involved at every stage of the project – from material cutting and pre-fabrication to jacket assembly and welding testing,” he says.

“Jointly we had full focus on meeting the highest standards so that these unmanned platforms would keep functioning for 30 years.”  And so the next time there’s a once-in-100 years storm event in what is one of the world’s roughest seas, everyone involved can perhaps sleep that little more soundly.

A few more highlights over the years

“Each of the HKZ jackets took about a year to make, but many of those months coincided with the pandemic’s peak,” recalls Project Manager Abdulrahman Dandachi. “We were at the final assembly stage of the first jacket when Covid struck worldwide. Suddenly, we couldn’t get materials through the usual routes or modes of transport. We couldn’t fly in suppliers or experts for final commissions or testing. We struggled to mobilise equipment, like the giant cranes that handle heavy lifts.”

Lockdowns, restrictions, delays, quarantines and travel bans across the world threatened to throw the project off course, so the team had to be innovative, seeking out new routes and scouring the local market for products and expertise.

“We had virus cases most days. On one occasion we had to evacuate everybody and apply all the protocols. This meant mass testing of more than 700 people in two days, contact tracing for those testing positive and quarantining. We took all the precautions and followed all the rules, but we didn’t have to close the yard – not for a single day. We kept driving towards our deadline.”

“We would have faced huge costs if we didn’t load the jacket onto the barge in time but for every challenge, we had a Plan B. It was the ultimate test of our capabilities and will, but we managed to pull it off.”

COPING WITH ADVERSITY

Awarded in 2018, the project sees Petrofac extend its credentials in downstream projects. Valued at around US$4 billion, the project is being delivered in a consortium with Saipem and Samsung and, as the lead partner, Petrofac’s share is around US$1.4 billion. The existing refinery is being updated, enabling it to produce the latest generation of low-emission fuels. The scope of work encompasses engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services, with Petrofac working primarily on the brownfield aspects of the site, including around 1,400 interfaces with the existing plant, with the two consortium partners contributing the new process systems in the greenfield areas.

IN NUMBERS

WHAT IS THE THAI OIL SRIRACHA REFINERY PROJECT?

207 modules by sea

182 modules by land

128 equipment by sea

510 equipment by land

All 99 modules from India now delivered

365 days, 365 units

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