New investments, in the range of $20 million, incurred from 2005, seek to increase the yard capacities in several ways.

The four main features are :
  • Construction of a new quay (100m long),
  • Expansion of the workable area,
  • A new Duplex welding workshop,
  • Construction of a new Riser Tower pre-fabrication and assembly line.

The new Duplex workshop is in response to the increasing demand for welds featuring cladded metal (such as Inconel), Duplex and Superduplex, as is now encountered in the piping work of deepwater manifolds.
 

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The new 100m-long quay, offers four new load-out lines with a maximum capacity of 3,000T from one of the lines. From mid-2005, SONAMET is able to offer 200m of quay facilities in total, which is equivalent to a 100% increase of the load-out capacity. The new quay is built using concrete blocks, resting on a quarry run foundation topped with rock ballast. The quay is covered by a 10m- wide reinforced concrete-bulkhead. All heavy fabrications are loaded from the new quay, which offers a 12m water depth for 10 m draft vessels.


Lighter structures continue to be loaded from the existing 100m long and 12m deep quay. Skids are modified to provide an upgrade of the current load-out capacity to 2,500T.

The soil material coming from the dredging activity in front of the new quay serves to reclaim 7,500 m² of surface behind the new quay as well as a new surface of 36,000 m² to the East of the yard. Near-shore reclaimed areas serve as a new pre-fabrication zone for the heavier structures. Such an increase in fabrication volumes is accompanied by a doubling of the skidding capacity. East and West areas communicate together by means of a new heavy-duty bridge, fabricated by SONAMET.

With the arrival of the Greater Plutonio Riser Tower, the pre-fabrication and assembly line used for the Girassol Riser Towers is optimised and consequently significantly modified. Orientation of the new assembly line to the Bay of Lobito remains the same, with a new wet dock section put in place. SONAMET shows constant innovation initiative and from delivering 1,200m long Tower Bundles for Girassol and Greater Plutonio is now ready to produce 3,000m long Tower Bundles.

The upgrade of the SONAMET facilities requires shore protection in the range of 20,000 m² of, which is used to settle the sea bed and protect the shore line against erosion. In addition 5,000T of rock and 4,000T of sand are used to fill the shore protection material.

The expansion of the SONAMET facilities looks to provide significantly increased fabrication capacity and to double the load-out possibilities on the water frontline of the yard. By rationalising the pre-fabrication areas and optimising existing areas, SONAMET provides a long-term basis for quality deliveries to the oil and gas industry from a safe and environmentally-friendly work-place.