United Group Resources Delivers For BP

United Group Resources has fabricated and delivered a major process unit for the BP refinery in Kwinana, WA.

The naphtha splitter column was constructed at the leading construction, engineering, asset management and maintenance provider's Kwinana workshop.

More than 200 tonnes of 460N Grade (normalised) XLERPLATE® steel went into fabrication of the unit's cylindrical shell and dished ends.

Because of the size of the finished vessel the shell was constructed in 3m by 4.5m diameter sections which were welded together to form the column in the horizontal plane.

United Group Resources (UGL Resources) project team leader Glenn LeMerle says the fabrication phase involved 20 employees working two shifts since November 2007. The installed naphtha splitter stands 64 metres tall, weighs 308 tonnes and holds a total volume of 1,000 cubic metres.

The smooth progress of the project has proven the value of UGL Resources' integrated engineering, fabrication and construction delivery model.

UGL Resources has wide experience in the mining and mineral processing, oil and gas, chemical and industrial processing sectors. For the BP naphtha splitter column, it took responsibility for design, detailing, fabrication and delivery to site as well as providing much of the labour to erect the process unit.

"There are a lot of advantages with this approach," said Glenn. "With intelligent design we've been able to use 16mm, 20mm and 25mm XLERPLATE® steel at various points throughout the shell."

"This has helped to contain costs for our customer, but still provides the performance they require."

UGL Resources could have sourced the 460N Grade XLERPLATE® steel directly from BlueScope Steel by mill enquiry, but elected to leave that role to OneSteel Steel & Tube.

"BlueScope Steel and its distributor OneSteel Steel & Tube have a thorough understanding of what we require when we order steel," said Glenn.

Design and Fabrication on Challenges

"Despite the grade requirements and nonstandard sizes involved, everything was delivered as and when we needed it."

The project provided significant challenges for the company's combined design and fabrication teams as the column required temporary support saddles, lifting attachments and complicated transportation requirements. It also involved close liaison with balance of plant design engineers Worley Parsons, in numerous 3D design review sessions, to refine the interface with the associated civil, piping, electrical and instrumentation works.

All internal and external attachments for the naphtha splitter column were fabricated from 350 Grade XLERPLATE® steel.

Internally, the column has been fitted with perforated process trays approximately every 450mm. On the exterior, nearly 300 square metres of platforms have been mounted in various segments.

"Fabrication of the column was completed on schedule by UGL Resources, with zero health and safety incidents and zero quality issues," says UGL Resources Workshop Services Manager Julian Bleddyn.

The splitter column is the largest vessel fabricated by UGL Resources to date. It was delivered to the refinery in July using heavy lift specialised transporters.

The three kilometre trip involved the lifting and de-energising of power lines and civil works including the removal and replacement of traffic islands and traffic signals.