When a 27.3-meter (89.6 feet), 117-metric ton (128.9 ton) gas scrubber arrived at a large oil refinery in Chile, contractors faced several challenges in the installation process. Their solution? They called Engineered Rigging’s local office in Chile to develop a heavy lift and transport plan.
First, the scrubber needed to be conveyed to the crude oil refinery, which processes most of the fuels consumed in the nearby metropolitan area. While the contractor had a plan for delivering the scrubber, it was stumped as to how to offload the enormous device from its transport vehicle and place it in storage. Engineered Rigging identified the Enerpac SBL500 hydraulic gantry system, equipped with the SSU300 hydraulic side shift units, as the ideal equipment for the offload.
In late November 2022, Engineered Rigging’s heavy lifting experts mobilized the SBL500 gantry from our Chilean yard. This team assembled the gantry, which features an octagonal boom for added strength and increased capacity and lifting height. Using the gantry’s Intelli-Lift wireless control system, a remote operator hoisted the scrubber from the specialized transport system and lowered it onto static storage stands. Engineered Rigging’s team then disassembled the gantry.
“It took us just 4 days to build the gantry, offload the scrubber and deconstruct the gantry for transport back to our yard,” said Christopher Cox, P.E., Founder and President of Engineered Rigging.
Meanwhile, the general contractor had completed its preparations for installing the scrubber within the refinery and needed to move the scrubber from the storage stands to its permanent location inside of the refinery. Engineered Rigging returned to the project site for the final portion of the project.
Three technicians assembled and tested the SBL500 hydraulic gantry, while a crew of four assembled and tested a Goldhofer self-propelled modular transporter system (SPMT) provided by Engineered Rigging’s South American partner Tecnogruas. Next, the Engineered Rigging team hoisted the scrubber from its static storage unit and lowered it onto two Goldhofer PST/SL-E six-axle SPMTs, each powered by Goldhofer’s PFV490 power units. Our Chilean team then repositioned the gantry to a location next to the crane that would place the scrubber in its final site within the plant.
“This refinery is a critical component of the region’s fuel infrastructure,” said Cox. “Engineered Rigging’s safe and efficient transport of the scrubber helped the refinery keep fuel flowing as it processed up to 104,000 barrels per day of crude oil.”
In a single day, the Engineered Rigging heavy lifting team transported the 117-metric ton scrubber nearly 1 kilometer (.62 miles) within the refinery. This distance included a delicate 90-degree turn, which required each SPMT and power pack unit to operate independently of the other. This type of turn is only possible with the nimble SPMT, which can move forward, backwards and sideways. Our equipment technicians then used the repositioned SBL500 hydraulic gantries to offload the scrubber from the SPMTs. Engineered Rigging moved the mammoth gas scrubber safely, on budget and in only five days.
For the refinery project, Engineered Rigging provided the engineering lift plan, equipment operators and the rental of two SBL500 hydraulic gantries with side shift units and two SPMTs. For more information about Engineered Rigging’s equipment rental fleet and capabilities, visit www.EngineeredRigging.com.
