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Equipment Rental
The growing need for
temporary structures Edward Gallagher, managing director (Middle East, Russia and Central Asia) at Losberger De Boer, discusses trends in the demand for temporary structures in the Middle East oil and gas markets. HE NEEDS OF oil and gas sites are uniquely dynamic, changing from the first moments of set up on the site to the time of decommissioning. This has led us as a company to deliver everything from early-stage housing and accommodation, through to inauguration celebration venues, site offices, annual maintenance and shutdown support facilities as well as site logistics/storage hubs. Both temporary and semi-permanent buildings are in demand throughout the life-cycle, and are particularly suitable as they require minimal/no foundations, are rapidly deployable and moveable, yet long lasting. Our European made structures are designed to BS EN 13782 standards and last comfortably for more than10 years, even with the tough remote site conditions in this industry and in the harsh climate of the Middle East. As technology has moved on, we have developed and are now able to deploy much more than standard “tents”. There is still some demand on site for that kind of simple structure when we talk about mess halls, storage and maintenance facilities, so of course we still stock that kind of product. However, forward-thinking oil and gas main companies, as well as service providers, are now using rapid deployment, higher specification structures from our range to fulfill other long-term needs such as offices, training centres, logistics and storage hubs or accommodation. Given the remote locations of many sites as well as the aforementioned changing needs, we continue to see increasing demand for the semi-permanent solutions we can offer, as well as the shorterterm temporary buildings. While we have had continued success in some locations, in other areas where plants hit inaugurations and milestones, Losberger De Boer has deployed some very high-end hospitality and turnkey venues for hosting such events – some remaining as visitor centres. Alongside the success, recent times have seen some challenges, and keeping a site running and delivering efficiently has only
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oilreview.me
Issue 3 2018
Image Credit: Losberger De Boer
A Losberger De Boer temporary structure
become more important as the price of oil has fallen, so our clients have been looking for innovations to help support them getting the most from their operations. As a result, an increasing number of oil and gas sector clients are requesting bespoke mega-doors to be installed to facilitate the movement of specialist large machinery and plant in and out for storage and maintenance. Furthermore, we have been delivering temperature-controlled warehouse/logistics hubs to give better efficiency via centralised on-site storage, and we have even been asked to completely tailor our structures to be installed over the top of equipment so that it can continue to operate in all weather and environmental conditions. In addition to events related to oil and gas, the core business requirement for temporary structures is in the provision of temporary accommodation for scheduled shutdown works. These are routinely administered on a plant for preventative maintenance and usually occur every 12 to 18 months.
Challenges There are a number of challenges associated with providing temporary structures in the region. The climate is clearly a factor. Our latest line of insulated buildings work effectively in response to this: while a fraction more expensive to rent in the first instance, they cut generator fuel bills by up to 40 per cent, which anyone familiar with running AC and other services off generator power for any significant time will tell you, saves a substantial amount of money. Secondly, the industry demands, rightly, extremely high standards of safety and security. Our structures are engineered and are constructed in line with BS EN 13782, we are also certified ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environmental), yet many providers do not meet any recognised standards with regard to their structures, nor a high standard of safety in their construction approach. However, across other sectors, one of the main challenges in the Middle East is that