Modular Walls met a unique challenge for a multi-million-dollar gas extraction project by creating a new thermal heat control panel product.
Modular Walls worked in collaboration with contractors Laing O’Rourke and Monadelphous, both Tier 1 builders, to design and construct 15 flare enclosures for Origin Energy’s APLNG Upstream gas extraction project. A key requirement of the brief was to provide an alternate design for a specified, complex solution that required large footings and cumbersome construction methodology. The structure needed to be able to withstand flares of up to 200°C during flare operations, and have a minimum design life of 20 years. Time and cost savings along with safety and performance were major project goals.
Since there were no products that currently matched these specific requirements, Modular Walls created ThermaMax thermal heat control panels based on their modular building methodology, which resulted in swift installation periods of just 12 days for each flare enclosure.
Each flare had a perimeter measuring 65 metres square and almost 12 metres high. The newly designed ThermaMax panels were used in conjunction with universal beams constructed off a base-plated configuration, as well as custom-made 4-metre commercial gates, all with a design life of 50 years – more than doubling the original requirement.
By providing the principal Origin Energy a superior design alternative to the original specification of cladded shipping containers, Modular Walls was able to save the client over 40% of costs, reduce the installation period by half, improve environmental and safety factors by taking 1100 trucks off the road, and achieve a superior aesthetic, all without compromising the thermal performance.
