Comprehensive solution optimizes efficiency

It takes detailed planning and deep expertise to construct the biggest integrated petrochemical facility in Russia. Several hundred oversized and heavy components had to be unloaded at the port of Tobolsk, transported along obstacle-filled roads, and maneuvered into position on a congested construction site.

Among these components were two 917-ton, 106-meter pyrolysis columns. By coordinating the whole process from unloading at the port, Mammoet could organize manpower, equipment, and logistics to maximize efficiency and safety throughout the project. The result was an optimized operation completed within a very short time.

The ZapSibNeftekhim petrochemical plant, owned by SIBUR, in Tobolsk, Siberia, is set to be the biggest integrated complex for the production of polymers in Russia. Covering a total area of 4.6 square kilometers, the site incorporates a high-volume steam cracker producing ethylene, propylene, and butane-butylene fraction.

Mammoet was commissioned to transport heavy and oversized components from the port to the construction site and install them. Mammoet’s responsibility involved three key stages, each with its own challenges. First, more than 300 heavy, oversized units had to be unloaded at the port of Tobolsk within two 10- to 12-week windows. Second, the units were to be taken 23 kilometers to the construction site. Third, each unit had to be precisely positioned on-site while working in severely limited space.

Preparation for the transport from port to site involved two years of joint preliminary work with the client. Significant work was performed to upgrade the ground infrastructure ready for the transportation of heavy cargo. For example, a bridge had to be built across an immovable pipeline and a network of bypass roads was created to avoid impassable obstacles.

Mammoet, together with SIBUR, planned and coordinated the logistics chain to realize efficiencies and enable each component to be delivered right on time for its installation – ensuring a fluid construction process. For this, detailed planning ensured that resources were deployed when and where they were most effective and least disturbing to ongoing work. The most striking example of this was moving our fully assembled PTC crane along the site using a crawler module – the first time this has been done in Russia.

Mammoet’s careful planning, continuous overview of the whole project, and ability to mobilize the ideal tools for the job, resulted in optimization across the whole operation, saving time, maximizing safety, and minimizing risk.