Sarens Nass Middle East (SNME), a joint venture between Nass Group of Bahrain and Belgium-based Sarens, said it has executed a record-setting lift at a Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) refinery which is implementing a clean fuels project (CFP).

The Bahrain-based company used Sarens Climbing Towers (SCTs) and strand jacks to lift a 1,500-tonne reactor onto its foundation at Mina Abdullah refinery.

A highlight of the job was the unique set-up in which the towers were installed, completely intertwined with the adjacent reactor’s bolting pattern. This allowed for a shorter lifting beam, eliminating the need for a guyed tower system, and resulting in a faster and safer execution.

Sarens deployed its 70-m-high SCTs, CC8800-1 (in SSL configuration), CC2800-1, and LR1250. The cranes took two weeks to be assembled and were then ready to execute the lift.

Sarens Nass cranes lift the cutterhead section.

“It was the first lift of its kind on a KNPC site and a record-setting performance. Our 25 skilled staff executed the challenge with utmost precision leading to a satisfied client,” says a company spokesman.

The major challenge was to intertwine the SCT system with the next neighbouring reactor’s bolting pattern within a limited space. Despite challenging weather conditions, the team successfully performed the operations, he states.  

This lift has formed a large part of Sarens’ large ambitions in Kuwait, which is currently investing on cleaner fuels and one of the largest refineries in the world.

KNPC’s CFP involves the upgrade and integration of the Mina Abdullah and Mina Al Ahmadi refineries.

The Sarens Nass team has been active throughout the region. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, it carried out a lifting job on the Riyadh Metro project. Here, Abdulla Nass and Partners, which was handling the overall lifting works of the Dafra tunnel boring machine (TBM), used Sarens Nass cranes CC2800 and CC1800 to lift a 157-tonne cutterhead.