ALE turnkey oil rig move

Heavy lift specialist ALE has completed a turnkey contract to deliver two pre-assembled oil rigs from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Oman. The rigs comprised three major parts and three smaller parts, with weights from 140 to 390 tonnes. The largest rig component was 35 metres long x 13 wide x 12 m high.

All the components were transported to site in six phases using conventional trailers and ALE’s Trojan truck.

The first phase involved jacking-up the rig components onto beams and stools, then performing the land transportation from Jebel Ali to the port. In consideration of the size and weight of the rigs, ALE had to find a suitable route for the cargo, which involved crossing one of the main highways (E11) which has the highest traffic flow as it’s the main road connecting Abu Dhabi with Dubai. ALE undertook extensive road modifications and preparations and worked with several parties involved to allow safe and undisruptive access.

The cargo was then loaded-out at the Port of Jebel Ali onto the barge for onward shipment to Oman, where it was received and loaded-in at the Port of Duqm in Oman. From here, the cargo was transported and jacked-down on site.

Yasser Al Yasin, ALE’s country manager in Oman, said, “At 35 m long and up to 390 tonnes, the sheer size and weight of the pieces meant that we had to find a suitable route for the cargo from Jebel Ali Free Zone (phase 2 of the project) to Jebel Ali Port on the E11. This presented challenges and required advanced preparations of extensive road modifications as well as liaising with several governmental authorities and subcontractors in order to work cohesively.”

ALE started the project in March 2017 and completed it in June.