The specialist welding company Allweld Marine & Industrial of Cape Town is a preferred repairer of ship and oilrig components in the Western Cape and it came as no surprise when an international oil exploration and production services company awarded Allweld a contract to refurbish mud plant equipment on a very tight delivery schedule.

The mud plant equipment had been in operation in Uganda, had been in storage in Cape Town for a lengthy period, when it was urgently required for a new venture in Cameroon. The process was to clean all the equipment, to paint where necessary and to affect relevant repairs to some of the damaged stands and walkways. It was agreed that grit blasting would be too abrasive for the more delicate items and not environmentally friendly which would also add considerably to the delivery schedule. It was recommended that Ultra High Pressure water jet cleaning be utilised and these blasting and painting services were provided by Atlatech – a specialist coatings provider based in Cape Town. The blasted and painted items included, amongst others, telescopic stands, a shale shaker, centrifugal units, mono pumps, electrical distribution boards, settling tanks and ancillary equipment.

Equipment that was repaired included telescopic stands, walkways, machinery containers, office containers and centrifugal bases. The repairs included complete replacement of parts, modifications, replacement of windows, wooden insulation in a container and mechanical repairs, since some of the equipment had been damaged in transit from Uganda.

Following the successful refurbishment of these components, Total Cover SA used their heat seal industrial wrapping to protect the equipment whilst in shipping transit to Cameroon. The original 19 day deadline was reduced to ten days and all the components were shipped on time and in excellent condition.