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A Revamping Project Inside One

of the Biggest Refineries in Europe

The leading Italian fired heater EPC company Vergaengineering SpA successfully completed a
complex revamping project inside one of the biggest refineries in Europe.
One and half years of engineering, procurement and fabrication activities ended with a double-phase
site job: the first phase aimed at the modularization of the items to be installed; the second phase was
the execution during the course of a one-month long plant shut-down, whenVergaengineering installed
the new modularized items in place of the ones to be revamped.
Among the difficulties: unconventional modularization for optimizing the installation in a very tight time
schedule; simultaneous operations and heavy liftings both in day and night shifts; site works
performed within the context of the entire refinery revamping, managed through the latest schedule
control techniques and with the highest safety requirements.

talian leading fired heater EPC company system, complete of heat exchanger, insulated
Vergaengineering SpA successfully faced a and refractoried ducts, fan, variable speed driver
complex retrofit revamping project during a major and machine monitoring system (figure 2).
turnaround, tackling it through modular
construction solutions. The job developed in the Abraham Lincoln said: «Give me six hours to chop
Icontext of the revamping of one of the biggest down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening
refinery in Europe. Vergaengineering scope was the the axe». This sentence is particularly true for this
management, engineering, procurement, fabrication, project, in which Vergaengineering spent one and half
transportation and site activities for the following 3 year preparing the demolition and revamping site job
combined projects to be performed in parallel: during a less-than-one-month turnaround.
I) the revamping of two cylindrical 20 m high radiant The major challenges related to engineering, planning
sections of a visbreaker heater unit (figure 1); and coordination. In fact, in order to stick to strict time
II) the revamping of a vacuum heater convection / safety / quality / cost requirements, a winning
section with replacement of 20 m long tubes; combination of dedicated commitment in organization
III) the whole replacement of an air pre-heating and innovative creativity in design was put in place.

Fig. 1 - 3D design of radiant modules complete of Fig. 2 - 3D design of APH (Air Pre-Heating)
all structures, ducts, equipment, instrumentation system, complete of all structures, ducts,
and piping equipment, instrumentation and piping

IndustrIal Plants - May 2018
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