Mammoet Wins Giant Heavy Lift Contract for Arctic LNG 2

Heavy-lift company Mammoet has landed the transportation and installation contract for Arctic LNG 2, its biggest contract ever.

Over the course of four years, Mammoet will install 42 large equipment modules onto three concrete gravity-based structures (GBS) at the Arctic LNG 2 prefabrication site. Each module will weigh between 8,000 tonnes and 17,000 tonnes. Over the project’s lifespan, the total weight of lifting operations will reach some 500,000 tonnes.

Arctic LNG 2 is an ambitious addition to Russian gas firm Novatek's Yamal LNG plant on the Gulf of Ob. Unlike Yamal, the infrastructure will be largely built off-site at a purpose-built shipyard near Murmansk. The liquefaction trains will be constructed on top of three concrete gravity-based structures - much like the jackets of the first North Sea oil platforms - which will be towed to the final location and sunk into place. 

The project is expected to use a total of around 2,000 self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) axles, several ALE Mega Jack lifting systems, a crane fleet spearheaded by a 1600 tonne Demag crawler crane, and about 120 workers at peak times.

Mammoet has also landed a contract for unloading services at the module fabrication yard, Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering (a joint venture between McDermott and CSIC Wuchuan). This will require more self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) axles and additional heavy lift cranes. 

The contract builds upon Mammoet's previous experience working with Novatek at Yamal LNG. For Yamal, Mammoet helped move and install about 142 modules in extreme Siberian Arctic temperatures - sometimes in the range of -60 degrees Fahrenheit. For Yamal LNG, Mammoet deployed 1,700 SPMT axle lines, the most ever used on a single project. 

In January, Mammoet completed a merger with ALE, and the combined company is now the largest global heavy lift and transport service provider.