Sandwell's first Russian project was in 1960, in the former Soviet Union. Since then we have worked on more than 20 assignments in Russia and Kazakhstan, for the oil & gas and pulp & paper industries. Our services range from engineering studies and all phases of design, to construction supervision.
Pulp and Paper Engineering
Russian forests are the world's last great untapped fiber resource. The main species are softwoods—spruce, fir and pine—the same species processed by Canadian mills. Sandwell's engineering and marketing specialists prepared preliminary and then detailed feasibility studies for the modernization and expansion of the paper mill of North-West Timber Corporation, located in the Kaliningrad region of western Russia.
Russian forests are the world's last great untapped fiber resource. The main species are softwoods—spruce, fir and pine—the same species processed by Canadian mills. Sandwell's engineering and marketing specialists prepared preliminary and then detailed feasibility studies for the North-West Timber Company for the reconstruction of its Neman Pulp and Paper Mill, located in the Kaliningrad region of European Russia. The preliminary study assessed the markets for paper in Russia, Europe, and the CIS region and identified the modifications required at the mill to be viable in this market. One alternative was then selected for a detailed feasibility study.
In the detailed feasibility study, Sandwell prepared a development plan for the Neman mill including analysis of target markets, mill operating costs, project capital investment requirements, and financial analysis of the overall program. Sandwell also assisted NWTC with presentations to prospective partners and to lenders.
The development plan for the Neman mill is been implemented in multiple stages. The detailed feasibility study was completed in 2003 and Sandwell has subsequently been involved in project implementation. As an engineer and procure (EP) subcontractor, Sandwell worked with GL&V on implementation of the Fiberline Project, including:
- Knotting and redstock pulp washing
- Oxygen delignification and post oxygen washing
- Pressure screening
- Hydrogen peroxide TCF bleaching
For the Fiberline Project, Sandwell supplied equipment and engineering services to GL&V including:
- Centrifugal process pumps
- Electric motors
- Motor control centers (MCC)
- Variable frequency drives (VFD)
- Field instruments and control valves
- Chemical handling equipment
- Distributed Control System (DCS)
Construction of the new fiber line and bleaching system was completed in 2007. The benefits of the program are a reduction in manufacturing costs, improvements in product quality, and compliance with international environmental standards. North-West Timber Company now operates the first Totally Chlorine-Free pulp bleaching plant in Russia.
Towing a gravity-based drilling
platform from the Arctic
to a shipyard near Vladivostok
Offshore and Arctic Engineering
For the oil and gas industry, we have been involved almost continually since 1984 in developing platforms for Russian arctic and offshore waters. These include both steel and concrete designs for sites ranging from the shallow arctic waters of the Pechora and Kara seas, to the Sea of Okhotsk, off Sakhalin Island on the Russian east coast.
Gravity-based structures
- Engineering studies and detailed design for a tanker-loading unit in Aniva Bay at the south end of Sakhalin Island
- Conversion of an existing steel/concrete artic platform to a drilling and quarters platform. Sandwell was responsible for all aspects of steelwork modification to the deck, corrosion protection, riser design, seismic engineering, wave force analysis, erosion protection, floating stability, and assistance in tow and installation.
- Feasibility studies, design development and design for various structures around Sakhalin Island, including an offshore loading terminal, concrete and steel structures, floating production, storage and offloading systems.
- Design, construction supervision and mating engineering for the installation of a new pontoon base on the Molikpaq, an arctic offshore drilling caisson.
- Conceptual designs of concrete exploration and early production platforms for the Pechora and Kara seas.
Conceptual design for an
offloading terminal in the
Pechora Sea
Offshore engineering
- Review of various offloading terminal concepts for the Pechora Sea; evaluating alternative mooring/loading concepts and configuration to determine the optimum oil storage and offloading concept.
Marine Transportation Model:
shipping oil from Sakhalin to Japan
Offshore simulation
- Development of the interactive ballast control simulator for the mating of the Molikpaq moble arctic offshore drilling structure and the 15m deep, 108 meter octagonal "Spacer" needed to enable the platform to operate in the deeper waters off Sakhalin Island. This project won the Lieutenant Governor’s Award of Excellence, the top award for British Columbia engineers.
- Study of the potential locations for offshore marine terminals in the Sakhalin area, including navigation issues in ice, icebreaker support and associated storage. The work made extensive use of Sandwell’s award-winning arctic simulation marine transportation model.
On many assignments, the emphasis has been on the design of structures that could be fabricated in Russia, and we have worked extensively with a range of Russian research and design institutes, and shipyards.
