Vertech began its engagement on the project by providing a rope access team to perform quarantine inspections on modules arriving at Barrow Island from Asia. Our engagement quickly grew as we saw firsthand the capabilities of trade-qualified rope access teams. Vertech began undertaking mechanical, rigging, and welding scopes to support Area Construction Managers in delivering their workpacks. The cost and time savings of using Vertech became apparent when these work packs came back under budget.
Gorgon & Wheatstone LNG Plant Construction
The cost and time savings of using Vertech became apparent when these work packs came back under budget. This saving stemmed from the work packs being developed for third-party scaffold engagement and separate trade labour. Vertech currently has 95 personnel mobilised to the project and maintains the largest presence of any subcontractor. All while maintaining an impeccable safety record, currently approaching 300,000 LTI-free manhours.
Project Summary
Vertech’s engagement on the project has become very diverse, with our teams carrying out various mechanical, welding, inspection, rigging and electrical scopes. Working closely with the principal contractor to develop innovative methods to implement efficiencies and deliver technically challenging ‘out of the box’ solutions to unique challenges.
An example of these solutions was the retrospective cleaning and QA/QC of the header lines going into the MR and PR compressors. A borescope inspection revealed considerable amounts of debris in the lines from construction. Vertech established safe confined space access and retrieval systems to inspect and clear over 800 meters of pipework with multiple bends, drops and junctions.
The knowledge gained and work practices used on the Gorgon project are directly transferable to Petrochemical and other downstream construction and maintenance.
Below is a summary the range of scopes Vertech have successfully delivered on the project:
- Pipefitting
- Mechanical and hydraulic fitting
- Flange management and facing services
- Steel erection and modification/Stick build
- Cold Cutting services
- Shipping and redundant steel removal
- Welding, Cutting and Grinding
- Structural rigging and installation
- Crane installation and operations
- Engineered lifting plans and solutions
- Preparation and Maintenance of Ex Equipment Register
- Maintenance of Ex Equipment and Ex Enclosures
- Implementation of Ex Strategies to Comply with Clients Maintenance Plan
- Cabling installation and cable management Systems
- Fire and Gas Cable and Detector Installations
- Coatings remediation and application
- Preservation wrapping
Innovation
Large-scale construction and upgrade projects, such as Gorgon, dedicate a substantial budget to traditional access systems. Unlike scaffolds and EWPs, Vertech’s multi-skilled rope access teams can establish access to any area of the plant quickly and perform the task using the same team.
The key innovation in Vertech’s approach is the team composition. Combining time-served tradesmen with rope access capability and experienced rope access supervision maximises efficiency and effectiveness in delivering the scope.
