When five-ton damaged oil pipelines needed to be lifted in the Iraqi desert, the risk of them breaking during the lift was too high. The alternative—cutting the pipes into smaller sections—would have caused a three-month delay in the schedule and added over four million SEK to the projected budget. The solution, somewhat unexpectedly, was a drum lift.
Appollo Road is the only access to the massive Majnoon oil field (“Majnoon” means “crazy” in Arabic) in the Iraqi desert. Thousands of vehicles pass along this route daily, often heavily loaded. Along the way, they cross the Yabani Bridge, which was built on a somewhat unstable foundation consisting of 430 oil pipelines, each 16 meters long and made of 12 mm carbon steel. With heavy traffic expected to increase, the bridge needs to be rebuilt, and all the pipelines must be replaced with a more durable solution.
In this infrastructure project, where snakes, scorpions, and extreme heat were among the identified risks, the lifting of these pipelines was the biggest challenge.
Ali Karim works for the Iraqi construction company Miyah Al-Jazeera and was the site manager. He explains that the initial plan was to lift the pipes using lifting eyes at each end of the pipes—an approach that was quickly abandoned once they inspected the condition of the five-ton pipes.
“One-tenth of the pipes were damaged from heavy traffic, more than we had anticipated. So our lifting supervisor chose not to approve the original lifting method. The risk of damaging both the pipes and the lifting eyes was too high,” says Ali Karim.
The alternative was to cut the pipes into three smaller sections before lifting. This solution would have meant three times as many lifts, 100 extra working days, plus costs for labor and an acetylene-powered cutting torch with materials for the entire period.
“That would have resulted in a dramatic cost increase of over four million Swedish kronor for us,” says Ali Karim.
Another solution was needed. If they could find a way to lift the pipes without using the damaged ends, but still provide sufficient load-bearing capacity, the problem would be solved. At the same time, there were strict requirements for safe and certified equipment.
The CERTEX drum lift proved to be the right solution for the job. By making a hole in the pipes, the drum lift could be inserted and twisted into place.
“The drum lifter is actually designed for lifting cable drums in a horizontal position, but it worked perfectly here,” explains the responsible salesperson at CERTEX in Malmö, who was the contact Ali Karim reached out to.
“CERTEX was very knowledgeable throughout the process, and we were extremely impressed with how quickly they were able to get the lifts from their warehouse in Sweden to our site in the Iraqi desert.”
Ali Karim, Miyah Al-Jazeera
“We were able to handle the entire package, from providing a functional product and certification to delivery. Thanks to our good agreements, we can ship quickly worldwide at competitive prices,” explains the responsible salesperson at CERTEX. Just four days after the order was placed, the drum lift was on site at the Yabani Bridge.
The combination of expertise and service from our contact at CERTEX helped reduce the project’s potential extra days from 100 to just 20. At the same time, the cost of lifting the pipelines was reduced from over four million Swedish SEK to 30,000 SEK.
“CERTEX was very knowledgeable throughout the process, and we were extremely impressed with how quickly they were able to get the lifts from their warehouse in Sweden to our site in the Iraqi desert,” says Ali Karim.
“It’s always rewarding to be able to help with such a specific problem. But above all, it’s great that the result turned out as well as it did,” concludes the CERTEX salesperson.
| Project: | Delivery of drum lift for lifting pipes in an infrastructure project in the middle of the desert. |
| Year of the projec: | 2017 |
| Customer: | Miyah Al-Jazeera |
| Place: | Iraq |
