Shutdown Success at Stanlow

Many industrial sites operate 24/7 shift patterns so productivity is continuous. The exception is the period of intense repair and maintenance known as shutdown.

At Sunbelt we work with several clients during this vital phase providing the latest, most reliable, safest and greenest equipment options on a mass scale.

The Challenge

Sited across an industrialised area in Cheshire equivalent to 300 football pitches, the refinery at Stanlow is operated by Essar and supplies 16% of all road transport fuels in the UK. The refinery processes up to nine million tonnes of crude oil every year, which is equivalent to more than 20,000 litres per minute.  Stanlow is also a large producer of commodities such as jet fuel and diesel.

Shutdowns are a regular event in the Industrial calendar but the scale of the shutdown at Stanlow is significant due to its sheer size. It is the second largest oil refinery in the UK.

Stanlow required thousands of additional pieces of vital equipment to enable a smooth shutdown and a quick turnaround.

The Solution

Our team has a facility on-site and worked with Stanlow to plan and provide large volumes of hired products and services to ensure the work could be carried out quickly, efficiently and safely. Weare multi-product specialists with a wealth of knowledge and experience in delivering solutions on the most complex of projects. With a national presence and thousands of strategic supplier and equipment relationships we have the ability and capacity to deliver on a massive scale.

Our dedicated shutdown team conducted a thorough, free site survey and advised Stanlow on the industry leading equipment available, which was most appropriate for the project. This team was a vital part of the planning and preparation for several months before the actual shutdown took place, ensuring the best possible equipment was in place at the crucial time.

The Results

The shutdown was highly anticipated by all and after months of planning was highly successful. In total we provided an astounding 10,000 items of equipment to aid Stanlow in the effective completion of the project.

Types of equipment provided include:

• 1,200 slam tube lights
• 790 Atex radios
• 100 compressors
• 70 generators
• 27 forklift trucks

To ensure large volumes and specialist equipment was provided we drew from our national supply chain and operational depots.

The effective shutdown enabled Stanlow to expand the facility’s crude unit and revamp the catalytic cracker, allowing petrochemical production to rise by about 10%.