Terberg Benschop News

Terberg FM1850-WDGL with IHC Fundex superstructure for Akzo Nobel

Thursday, March 11th 2010

Terberg Benschop and IHC Fundex Equipment have supplied Akzo Nobel with an unique piece of machinery. The Terberg FM1850-WDGL 8x4 will serve as "Work over rig" for Akzo Nobel Industrial Chemicals BV. Thanks to the new Terberg with IHC Fundex T120 unit, Akzo Nobel can drill deeper wells and maintain them more effectively.

It is particularly important for Akzo Nobel to deploy a machine that is allowed to run on public roads. The company wins salt, using the vacuum method, in the Netherlands (Hengelo and Delfzijl) and in Denmark (Mariager in the north of Jutland). Akzo Nobel brings water through the drill pipe into the ground and brine back up through the inner tube, with approximately 312.5 grams of salt per liter. The method takes its name from the salt treatment in the evaporate installation. In there, the water evaporates under vacuum and the salt remains (99 percent pure).

Usable anywhere
The Terberg FM1850-WDGL, with four axes, three of which are steered, has been approved of as a driving tool. Therefore, the new "Work over rig" can use the public roads to run to every drilling location and then, in the field, can reach the place of the drill by itself with no problem. At the destination, the Euro 5 Volvo D13A engine of the Terberg drives the impressive hydraulic system with a capacity of 800 liter at a pressure of 335 bar. For this a power of 300 kW is needed. For that purpose, a special Power Take-Off, PTO,  has been mounted in the driveline behind the ZF-gearbox. The PTO has a maximum torque of 2.000 Nm. The D13A delivers a maximum power of 324 kW (440 hp) and torque of 2.200 Nm. That is more than sufficient to propel the heavy hydraulic system.

Great performance
The new "Work over rig" is an impressive machine. The total weight of the truck and the superstructure is 40 tons. The total length, width and height are 16.10 x 3.00 x 4.00 meters. The performances correspond to that. The extended free-standing mast has a length of 24.5 meters. When Akzo Nobel reefs the 38 millimetre thick lifting cable to four falls, the machine can pull 120 tons. Powered by the main engine of the Terberg that weight is raised from the well with a speed of twelve meters per minute. This hoisting is the most common job for this machine. In the maintenance of the borehole it is necessary to rig the drill pipe from the borehole and to lower it again after having adjusted the length. In a deep well, which is for salt production at approximately 1600 meters underground, this is about 90 tons of tube weight. Moreover, when creating a new bore hole, the drill pipe often sticks to the ground layers. Hence the huge lifting capacity. At the pits around Hengelo with drilling depths up to 540 meters, Akzo Nobel reefs two falls. This makes the lifting capacity lower (60 tons), but the speed correspondingly higher, up to 75 meters per minute.

Customized
Team leader Peter Bekhuis, from the Drilling Department, is enthusiastic about the capabilities of the new machine. The Brine Mining and Drilling department with 32 employees is responsible for the drilling of new wells and the maintenance of existing facilities. "We do this work ourselves, because outside our company there is no one with the expertise or equipment to perform this specialized work in a corrosive environment. It looks like winning oil, but it is not. Previously we had a machine that could lift 30 tons (1988). Then came a 60 ton machine (1996) and now this heavyweight with a capacity of 120 tons. We also need this new gear in Delfzijl and Denmark, because there we work with deep wells.

Here in Hengelo, we especially appreciate the lifting speed and flexibility. A "work over" (repair and maintenance of a borehole) interrupts the production process. We want to minimize stagnation, so we need a fast and reliable machine to work with. I am pleased that we have been able to purchase a Dutch machine, one with such an appealing performance. I can assure you, we have been looking for a long time, even abroad, and eventually found the appropriate mix of components in Goes en Benschop. There we have been able to develop this unique machine in close cooperation with IHC Fundex and Terberg. We are proud of the result and very happy with the operation."

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