December 5 - ALE has completed the jacking and weighing of a 2,570-tonne satellite platform topside for the Korchagin oil field development project in Astrakhan, Russia.
The first stage of the project started in November 2017 and involved weighing the topside and jacking it to a height of 1.5 m so the client can integrate skid beams in between the topside and the desk-support frame underneath.
Lernik Mirzakhanyan, sales executive for ALE Russia, said: "Considering the sheer size of the desk-support frame onsite, we have completed a complex engineering design to account for the limited space available to perform the operation.
"As we cannot use forklifts or cranes to rig the equipment, we have utilised manual tools. For project efficiency, the weighing was carried out by measuring the hydraulic pressures and flow rates rather than jacks with load cells on them."
The next phase of the project, which is expected to start later this month, will involve the load-out of the topside with the desk-support frame, weighing approximately 3,100 tonnes, to the transport barge.
Meanwhile, ALE has purchased eight Iveco Trakker trucks for use in Argentina and Chile.
The trucks will be added to the current fleet of enhanced transportation equipment, such as conventional, extendables and semi-trailers as part of the new transportation division, which will be based in the regional head office in Argentina.
"We wanted to increase our transport capabilities as we often have to negotiate terrain that has unprepared roads. The decision was made to purchase these trucks because of their off-road characteristics. This makes them particularly suitable for the region's roads and the specific routes we take," explained Walter Rago, general manager of ALE's Argentina branch.
"Their sturdy features, including the chassis, suspension and engine capabilities, will help when negotiating the difficult Patagonian roads. Along with the new division, the trucks will be used to strengthen ALE's service offering across the region and its presence in the region's wind energy market specifically."
