L&T Heavy Engineering LLC
Single source metallurgical solutions With a swelling order book that includes contracts secured from renowned international companies, L&T Heavy Engineering LLC is well-positioned to claim the top spot among the region’s providers of high performance, custom-engineered metallurgical solutions. Building on five years of sustained business growth, L&T Heavy Engineering LLC – Oman’s only workshop that offers custom-engineered metallurgical solutions to a wide range of industries – wrapped up 2013 on a robust note. Thanks to a healthy order book, revenues were up a vigorous 25 per cent over the previous year, while the company was on track to posting an operating profit for the first time since it commenced operations five years ago. A joint venture between Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Limited and The Zubair Corporation of Oman, L&T Heavy Engineering LLC operates the Sultanate’s only workshop designed and equipped to offer bespoke custom-engineered metallurgical solutions to a wide range of industries. At the heart of its Sohar operations is a massive 68
fabrication shop fitted out with an extensive array of high-tech systems and tools suitable for the manufacture of precision engineering critical systems for core sector industries, such as Refineries, Petrochemical and Fertiliser projects, and other process industries and Power plants in the region. Its location at the industrial port, adjoining the equally modern plant of its sister firm, L&T Modular Fabrication Yard LLC, gives the Heavy Engineering unit an unbeatable advantage in meeting the increasingly complex metallurgical engineering demands of regional and international clients. Already the company has amassed a sizable portfolio of contracts that promise to keep the state-of-the-art facility humming with activity well into 2014. “We have healthy order backlog for 2014 on account of major orders from Alstom Power (Germany) for the manufacture
of critical gasification equipment for the expansion project of Reliance Jamnagar (India), as well as critical HDS reactors for a refinery in Mexico involving new generation Cr-Mo-V material,” said Mr. Pallav Chattopadhyay, Head – L&T Heavy Engineering LLC (Sohar Works). “The company is aggressively bidding for major orders from internationally reputed EPC players involving over-dimensional and super heavy equipment, while also targeting business opportunities within the domestic Oil & Gas sector in Oman as well as other GCC countries. The bulk of these orders are planned to be executed in the large open yard adjacent to the covered shops. Furthermore, we are expecting to undertake many specialized modification / revamp and failure analysis jobs for the domestic process industries. All of these opportunities put together, coupled with the
current growth of the global oil and gas industry, will contribute to a healthy growth in order booking across all our product lines,” he added.
Impressive client roster L&T HE continues to attract a growing array of reputable EPC contractors as well as international players in the energy, refining and petrochemical industries to its Sohar yard. The list includes Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Foster Wheeler (USA), Alstom Power (Germany), Tupras (Turkey), Ecopetrol (Columbia), Petrofac (UAE), Enerflex (Canada), Cobra (Mexico), Pall Corporation (UAE), Equate (Kuwait), OMPL (India) and Matix (India). The yard’s impressive success, very early on in its operation, is attributable to a number of factors, says Mr. Chattopadhyay. “Foremost is our track record for on-time delivery of orders
and to the quality standards expected by the client. In fact, safety and quality are part of our core value system. We have embraced world-class systems and procedures developed by sister units back in India at every level of our operations. Together with a high level of automation, and the continuous training and development of our workforce, we strive to position ourselves on the cutting edge of the heavy engineering industry.” The executive cites a number of examples that he says showcases the unrivalled prowess and capabilities of L&T HE in the field of heavy engineering. In one complex order executed last year, the company fabricated and supplied 16 high thickness steam accumulators, each weighing 160 metric tons, to Abenesia (Spain) for installation at a South Africa solar power plant. In all, equipment involving around 5,000 MT of high strength
quenched and tempered steel was built and supplied in less than eight months, he said. Another prestigious order being executed by the company pertains to the supply of 10 sets of highly critical HTHR equipment to be installed in an upcoming gasification plant in India. Awarded by Alstom Power (Germany), the order will be completed by mid-2015. But demonstrating its superior capabilities was an order received from faraway Mexico for the supply of two high thickness reactors made from new generation Cr-Mo-V steel. “This breakthrough order has effectively placed L&T HE in a select list of not more than a dozen countries worldwide that have the requisite technology and know-how for the handling of this critical material,” the yard’s Head commented. Closer home, the company took up the challenge of manufacturing a replacement
Wet Gas Scrubber Assembly for the Sohar refinery of Orpic that was damaged in a fire incident. “The order was accepted with a pledge to deliver in a record-breaking 62 days against a typical delivery period of over five months for a piece of equipment of this type. Ultimately, the equipment was delivered in 55 days, creating a new benchmark and thereby helping Orpic expedite the restart of its plant.”
Experience and expertise Contracts from prominent players from Oman’s energy sector have also been contributing to the yard’s order-book. For Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the Sultanate’s top oil and gas producer, L&T HE successfully executed eight critical pressure vessels for the oil firm’s Lekhwair project. A further eight vessels are under construction for PDO’s Saih Rawl facility. 69