Sarens has completed a series of major heavy lifting and transport operations at the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility (REEF) in British Columbia, Canada, helping advance a project that will connect Canadian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to global markets.
The REEF facility, being developed by AltaGas near Prince Rupert, will have storage capacity of 600,000 barrels, or about 48,700 tonnes, of propane and butane when completed.
Working on the project, Sarens has offloaded and installed three 2,532-tonne LPG accumulators, two 700-tonne LPG bullets and 122 pipe rack modules. Of the modules, 85 were delivered by vessel and 37 by road.
The work has been carried out in challenging conditions, with the site located just south of Alaska. Large ocean swells, cold winter temperatures and constant rain created difficult working conditions throughout the project.
Despite the weather, Sarens safely transported all equipment and modules, lowered the large pressure vessels onto their foundations and supported other heavy transport activities at the site.
The company used 96 axle lines of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) together with its CS250 crane, supported by its engineering and project management teams.
One of the project’s biggest tasks involved transporting each LPG accumulator more than three kilometres from the jetty to its final position. Measuring 27.5 metres wide and 36 metres tall, each accumulator was lowered 2.5 metres onto a recessed foundation using a CS250 crane and 16 jacks with millimetre accuracy.
Sarens also installed the first two sections of a 13-span pipeline that will connect LPG carriers at the jetty to the processing plant.
The larger of the two spans weighed 400 tonnes and measured 71 metres long, while the second weighed 358 tonnes and measured 66 metres.
Installing the second span required a different approach because no ship or shore crane could reach the location. Sarens developed a solution using two 11-axle SPMT units mounted on a barge. Working with the tide, the crew positioned the span onto its foundations despite the movement of the barge caused by ocean swell.
The installation of the two LPG bullets also required careful planning. Each vessel weighed 700 tonnes, measured 62.5 metres long and stood 8.7 metres high. Because they extended beyond the vessel carrying them, Sarens secured them on a 4.5-metre-high grillage to prevent contact with the quayside during tidal changes.
The crew then lowered the vessels, transported them more than two kilometres through an active container yard and installed them onto their foundations.
Sarens said the project demonstrated its ability to deliver complex lifting and transport work in remote locations with demanding weather conditions and strict local labour requirements.
“We are proud of our work on this project and look forward to what’s next. Despite the challenges of a remote location, dynamic weather conditions, and exacting local manpower rules, we have successfully cleared every hurdle,” the company said.
“Sarens has put together a robust Canadian team with senior supervisors from the UK, USA, and HQ, and succeeded in getting the equipment and personnel on-site on time, thanks to a heroic team effort from Sarens Projects US and Sarens Canada!” it said.
While the current phase of work is nearing completion, Sarens is expected to return to the site next year to install two additional accumulators and 11 more modules. Expansion work is already underway and will include another LPG bullet and about 25 additional modules during the summer of 2026, followed by another accumulator in 2027.
