Thursday, July 1, 2010

Extreme Logistics � moving giant construction modules from Korea to Alberta

Planning has been underway for two years on a program to move 207 giant construction modules by ship from Korea to Vancouver, Wash., then barge to Lewiston, Idaho and finally over the road for more than 1,000 miles to a new oil sands plant under construction near Fort McMurray in northeast Alberta between October 2010 and October 2011.

Imperial Oil Ltd., the Canadian arm of, and 70 percent owned by, Exxon Mobil is building the $8 billion Kearl Lake oil sands project and awarded a $250 million contract to the Korean manufacturer, Sungjin Geotec Co., an affiliate of POSCO (Pohang Iron & Steel Co.) to build the modules.

Under the contract, the oversized modules will be up to 140 feet long by 24 feet wide by up to 26 feet high

At Vancouver, Alastair Smith, senior director of marketing and operations said, “We already have two heavy lift cranes.”  He said the port can marry up its two 140 mt Leibherr MHC cranes to easily handle the heaviest modules, which will weigh up to 334,000 lbs, both for discharge from ships and loading to barges. According to Smith, the Korean manufacturer is responsible for the ocean transport and discharge. Imperial Oil and its construction contractor, Fluor Corp. take over at Vancouver for the rest of the delivery including marshalling at the port  and loading onto barges for the 2.5 day trip up the Columbia and Snake Rivers to the Port of Lewiston.

At the Port of Lewiston, 360 nautical miles from Vancouver and 740 feet above sea level, the modules will be mounted on giant trailers, most 16 feet wide, 125 feet long and with 96 wheels on steerable axles, with the modules overhanging four feet more on both sides and including the height of the trailer, standing 30 feet high. 

A key concern is a Corp of Engineers scheduled lock closure for maintenance from December 13 until mid-March. Both ports, Vancouver and Lewiston, are making preparations for marshalling modules to cover the closure period.

Mammoet Canada (Western) Ltd.  will handle the over-the-road segment calls. The 96-wheel trailers will be “prime movers”, oversize trucks of 550 to 600 hp pulling and pushing the heaviest loads of up to 334,000 lbs. Including the “prime movers”, the overall length of the rigs will be 210 feet and the highest gross vehicle weight will be 580,000 lbs.

The convoy of the 210-foot long juggernaut and its escort of three pilot cars and two police cars will move at night across the 134-miles of US Highway 12 in Idaho and enter Montana at the 5200 foot summit of Lolo Pass in the Bitterroot Range on the third night.

To cross Idaho, power lines have to be raised or buried at 180 locations, while 9 turnouts have to be modified to accommodate the rigs as other traffic cannot be delayed by more than 15 minutes. The cost of these permanent changes is estimated at $2.2 million.

For the 332 miles across Montana, the work is even more impressive. 572 power lines to be raised or buried, 22 highway turnouts  improved and 53 new turnouts to be built, 33 traffic signals, signs or lights moved or modified and 8.5 miles of county roads in Glacier County resurfaced. For Montana, the cost is estimated at $23.2 million plus $1 million for state permits.  A 184-page environmental impact report has been submitted to the state for the Montana portion of the work. 

The project is still awaiting final approval from Montana and has garnered some opposition, although it is more centered on the prospect of this becoming a permanent high wide transportation corridor. While Imperial Oil states it is a one-off program, the route has already seen some limited activity over the past two years.  

From Lolo Pass, the modules continue along US 12 and 93 to Missoula, then briefly move on Interstate 15 before going onto State Highway 200 over Roger’s Pass in the Rockies, 5600 feet above sea level.  From there, the convoys will continue via US, state and county highways arriving at the Canadian border crossing at Sweetgrass, Montana seven days after leaving Lewiston. 

In Alberta, the Edmonton Journal reports another 138 power lines have to be raised or buried, three new railroad crossings built. Total cost for improvements on the 150 miles between the border and Brooks, a small town east of Calgary is $4.25 million. The remaining 450 miles to Fort McMurray does not need any work as it is already established as a route for oversize loads.

The Alberta government permit fees average $11,000 per load — or almost $2.3 million.
The Columbia- Snake Corridor is creating a significant corridor for movement of oversized shipments. In 2008, Dargas Shipping of West Vancouver, BC moved a pressure vessel from Vancouver, BC that was barged from Bellingham, Wash.  to the Port of Wilma, Wash., 2 miles from Lewiston and trucked to an unrelated oil sands site at Fort McMurray.

Emmert International is already using the route to move four giant 24�foot diameter, 375,000 lb. drums via Lewiston to a ConocoPhillips refinery in Billings, Montana.

Montana is still reviewing the project and public hearings were held in Idaho at the end of June.

The Kearl Lake project is just one of a half-dozen large multi-billion dollar oil sands projects currently being planned or developed. Although expensive to extract, the oil sands hold more oil than Saudi Arabia.

While most oil sands oil is now used on Canada and the United States, this could change as the new projects come on stream.  Kinder Morgan is planning to expand its Transmountain pipeline to Vancouver and Enbridge is planning a new pipeline to Kitimat, BC.

Should the Columbia River route be rejected, there are few alternatives. Bridges and tunnels block  highway and rail routes in Canada both from Vancouver BC and Prince Rupert as well as from Puget Sound.

A competing route of rail via Duluth can handle heavier loads, but large heavy lifts are restricted to about 14 feet wide by 16 feet high.  Wide loads can be routed via Houston, but there are height restrictions.

Some companies are studying the use of barges via the Arctic Ocean and down the Mackenzie River, but the route has not yet been proven for heavy lifts and is restricted to a very short shipping season.

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