S-oil Expansion Project in Korea
Sarens assists Soil expansion project in Ulsan, South Korea
27
February 2018

Sarens' heavy lifting expertise is helping S-Oil with their new expansion project in Ulsan, South Korea. This expansion is expected to create 20,000 jobs and raise South Korea's export volume by 2.5 trillion won per year. Using a gantry system on the RFCC steel structure, Sarens is making the heaviest lifts possible at S-Oil's Onsan complex. 

For this project, Sarens designed a completely new lifting gantry system in-house, so that it could be operated from the client's (Daelim & Daewoo E&C), steel structure. The system is designed for multiple heavy equipment lifts at the S-Oil site and consists of:  

  • 2 x main girder beams
  • 4 x 480t skid shoes
  • 2 x 450t strand jacks
  • 4 x 850t strand jacks 

It can execute multiple steps for the erection of heavy equipment, including: 

  • Tandem lift with additional tailing crane at ground level
  • Vertical lift and tailing crane release
  • Lift to required height level
  • Skidding to foundation position
  • Lowering and setting down on designated foundation 

"This project has established Sarens as a reference for heavy lift operations at refinery sites in Korea, especially for the heaviest regenerator, disengager, and reactor lifts," says project manager Ilseob Shin. 

Custom design and assembly on this scale is always challenging, but never impossible, for the team at Sarens. The operation involved a team of thirteen working closely together: two operators, a nine-person rigging crew (six from Sarens, three from the client), one project manager, and one site engineer. Foster Wheeler did the front-end engineering design concept, and the gantry was fabricated locally. 

The team had to ensure everything was made exactly to specification and assembly procedures were carefully followed. It then took 30 working days to set up the equipment, which arrived in about 18 containers (both 20' and 40') from Belgium, Malaysia, and the local fabrication site. 

Sarens is pleased to have contributed expertise and equipment to make this project possible, and looks forward to S-Oil's successful expansion.