Gas compressor removed

As the Waitsia Stage 1 Expansion gets under way in earnest, the gas compressor that was installed at the Xyris Production Facility when it was first built in 2004 was recently removed. This is part of MEPAU’s commitment to remove redundant equipment and keep sites tidy. It’s also part of preparing for the expansion.

Cameron Goodchild (MEPAU Person in Charge) says the compressor only took two days to remove and the job went exceptionally well, with zero incidents or injury. A detailed engineering lift study had been prepared in the pre-planning stage due to the weight and complexity of the compressor.

Even so, a very thick layer of grout under the compressor made the task more challenging than anticipated. The grout, which was in place to prevent water seeping out of the concrete slab into the steelwork, had to be manually removed with sledgehammers and jackhammers.

The compressor itself weighed 55 tonnes, and was taken by truck to a scrap dealer in Geraldton, to be recycled into other products. There was also a cooling pack, similar to a radiator, which weighed 13 tonnes.

Cameron Goodchild says MEPAU engaged local labour to assist with the removal of the compressor. “We had about a dozen people help with the job, all local,” he says. “Lenane Holdings provided the trucking transport. Geraldton cranes supplied the lifts. And Westweld Engineering undertook the deconstruction of the compressor.”