Building an oil rig

THE BRATs had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of one of the biggest ongoing projects at the Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) yard in Pasir Gudang, Johor. We got up close (not too close though) to the Tapis R project – the fabrication of ExxonMobil’s central processing platform which will be used to process oil extracted from the sea bed.

Massive steel structures make up the platform which is more than twice the size of a football field and towers at 109m high.

Upon entering the fabrication yard, we attended a 20-minute safety briefing before making our way to the construction site. Safety is taken very seriously by ExxonMobil at the yard to avoid accidents.

We also wore coveralls for external protection and identification. Safety personnel are positioned at various places to monitor the progression of the projects and to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

“I can’t stress enough on how important safety is to our company,” said structural engi- neer Azila Abdul Aziz, 32.

We learned that an oil or gas platform is typically composed of three levels: the main deck, production deck and cellar deck. Additionally, on a mother platform such as Tapis R, there are living quarters to house offshore operational staff.

ExxonMobil and its contractor MMHE work together around the clock to complete the fabrication of Tapis R – which is part of the Enhanced Oil Recovery initiative under Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme to help ensure reliable and sustainable energy supplies for the country.

“The oil and gas industry currently contributes approximately 20% to the Gross Domestic Product of our country,” said ExxonMobil Malaysia Public and Government Affairs Manager Farid Jaafar.

Mechanical engineer Shahrulnizam Ramli, 25, is among the engineers who oversee the fabrication of the gas platform projects at the site. Workers can be seen hard at work despite the hot sun to get the job done. Some of them were busy operating cranes, supervising the builders and welding the metal pipes. The pipes will be used to transport the gases and oil out of the sea bed during operation. “Without pipes, you have a facility that does not produce anything,” said Shahrulnizam.

The materials used to construct the platforms are of the highest quality to meet safety requirements.

Engineers and skilled workers bring together these individual parts that make up the facilities on the platforms. The entire process of completing a platform may take around a year or more depending on the size.