Sarens has completed the transport, lifting and installation of 34 large modules and 108 pieces of equipment at Saudi Aramco’s Jafurah Gas Plant Project, supporting the development of one of Saudi Arabia’s largest unconventional gas fields.
Working for Samsung Engineering, the company provided engineering, project management, equipment and personnel to carry out the heavy lifting and transport scope in a remote desert location about 80 kilometres from the nearest town.
The Jafurah development covers around 17,000 square kilometres and is estimated to contain more than 200 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, including ethane, propane, butane and condensates. The project also includes a 1,500-kilometre pipeline network, a natural gas liquids fractionation plant and a gas compression system. Once completed, the infrastructure is expected to increase Saudi Arabia’s gas production and support domestic energy supply.
The lifting and transport work began after modules were fabricated and tested at Aramco’s external assembly yard.
Sarens used 72 axle lines of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) to move the 34 modules along a 2.5-kilometre route to the installation site. Each module was positioned using slewing and crawling movements to work within restricted space.
On average, the modules measured 40 metres long, 20 metres wide and 36 metres high. Together, they weighed more than 18,500 tonnes.
The company also completed the installation of 108 pieces of process equipment weighing up to 550 tonnes. This included a 548-tonne amine absorber and a 450-tonne demethaniser.
To complete the lifting programme, Sarens deployed a 1,250-tonne crawler crane, two 600-tonne crawler cranes, two 160-tonne crawler cranes and 48 axle lines of SPMTs to position equipment beneath the cranes.
The 1,250-tonne crawler crane carried out the main lifts with support from a 600-tonne tailing crane, while the remaining crawler cranes assisted with lifting operations and site logistics. Cranes were also relocated between lift locations using SPMTs to maintain the project schedule.
Sarens said the work was completed despite tight deadlines, confined work areas and challenging desert conditions.
The company said close collaboration with Saudi Aramco and Samsung Engineering enabled all planned lifting operations to be completed safely and on schedule, demonstrating its capability to deliver large-scale heavy lifting and transport projects in demanding environments.
