Rehabilitation & Upgrade of ELFONS Pumping Station
Located in the town of Mikumi, the Elfons Pass Pumping Station is part of the Tazama pipeline project. Tazama is a 1,710km-long onshore pipeline project operated by TAZAMA Pipelines. This oil pipeline, with a maximum diameter of 12 inches, starts at Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and ends in Copperbelt (Zambia).
Maintenance on the line has proven difficult since the pipeline's inception in 1968, with many leaks recorded since then. Repair of those leaks was necessary to avoid environmental degradation and to prevent further losses of crude oil.
In 2013, as part of the Governments of Zambia and Tanzania initiative to rehabilitate the entire pipeline, CSI Energy Group was contracted to upgrade three pumping stations. Works on the Elfons Pass pumping station (in the town of Mikumi) included the replacement of old engines with new 3508 CAT units, together with the commissioning of SPX BB3 pumps and VOITH fluid coupling turbos.
Together with upgrades at six other stations the capacity of Tazama was considerably improved, pushing it from its initial handling (600,000 tonnes) to a potential 1.1 million tonnes per year.
Project Summary
Client:
TAZAMA PIPELINES LTD (OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF ZAMIA & TANZANIA
Engineer:
MANTRAC TANZANIA LTD
Sub Contractor:
CSI ENGINEERING, PART OF CSI ENERGY GROUP
Contract Value:
USD 740,000
Duration:
February 2015 - September 2015