TOTAL VOSTOK plant construction: 549 days without accidents.

Russian Business Guide magazine. March of 2020.

- Mr. Trukhan, tell us more about the construction: why was it entrusted to PSO-13? What was your role in this project? 

– The customer better knows why the construction was entrusted to us. I can only say that PSO-13 won a fair tender, which lasted almost a year. During this time, we met with TOTAL specialists 7 times. They talked about our experience, competencies, constructed objects. We discussed the concept of the plant, design and  constructive solutions, worked out in detail the estimate. Victory was awarded to PSO-13. Following the results of the tender, we signed an EPC contract with TOTAL.  

EPC is an abbreviation of three words: Engineering, Procurement, Construction. Such contracts are widely used in the world for the implementation of such projects, although such a format is still rare in Russia. In accordance with the agreement, we performed the whole complex of works turnkey: examination, design, supply of materials and equipment, construction, installation, and commissioning. The customer only supplied technological equipment – here the experience of TOTAL is such that few in the world can do it better than they. 

The most difficult step was the adaptation of the automated production technology developed by ABB to the regulatory requirements of the Russian Federation. I admit, it was a very difficult process, but we managed to succeed. 

In such projects, the main task of the leader is to ensure that builders, designers, suppliers and contractors work as a single well-coordinated mechanism, control the timely completion of tasks and, of course, motivate the team. Th e designers did a great work: the number of project adjustments turned out to be so significant that the project documentation had to be reevaluated.

– Are there any features in working with large international companies? What do they focus your attention on? What are the differences from Russian customers?

– From the very beginning the customer set the condition: the construction must comply with the most stringent safety requirements. 

I was surprised that TOTAL employees often came to the site for safety meetings – Russian customers often rely entirely on the general contractor in such matters. And when in 500 days there was not a single accident at the construction site, TOTAL organized a festive buffet reception. Not only engineering and technical specialists, but construction workers were invited. Outstanding workers were awarded. 

Joint project team of TOTAL VOSTOK and PSO-13

TOTAL is very responsible in fulfilling its own obligations. Th e necessary information was provided without delay. If the situation required a response, it was always professional and prompt. Employees from the Paris office and French technologists often participated in the work. I liked the honesty in the relationship: if the customer doubted something, then they talked about it. Then, already, we had to, based on our experience, suggest how best to act in a given situation. 

The tender identified very clear requirements for the conditions of work: what paint should be used for metal structures, what kind of lighting, humidity and temperature should be in the premises. In total there were more than 70 such requirements. All of them were taken into account and fulfilled by us. 

I especially note the organization of control of work by the customer. Meetings were held weekly at the site during construction and at the TOTAL project office. There were constantly 4 employees of the partner corporation at the facility, including the deputy project manager. Th is team not only recorded compliance with formal requirements, but was aimed at the overall result and did everything possible to accelerate the construction.

– What difficulties did you encounter in the design and construction of the plant? 

– The first difficulty is soft soils. Machines simply stuck in some places. We did a great job of excavating clay layers and replacing them with sand. Soil stabilization was performed under the entire site. At the same time, it was impossible to increase the construction time due to additional work – they were strictly determined by the dates of receipt and installation of technological equipment. But despite a multiple increase in the volume of work, we managed and prepared the object for installation on time. 

The second challenge was to choose the connecting pipelines for the strapping of technological equipment, part of which has inch, and part – metric connections. 

Third, the completion of work fell on the coldest months: January and February. The oil thickens at low temperatures, so before starting production, it was necessary to rinse the systems and fill the process tanks. 

Fourth, there was a complex automated process control system. We installed more than 30 km of various cables and hundreds of various sensors for it. 

Tank farm for raw material storage

– If you started this project now, what would you and your colleagues change or implement differently?

– Perhaps we would pay even more attention to the design of technology. We did not immediately understand that the coordination of the metric and inch systems would be so difficult, and that it would take so much time and effort to find pipes that are rare for Russia.

– Was TOTAL satisfied with working with PSO-13?

Svyatoslav Pulinets, advisor to the CEO of PSO-13: “Our cooperation was effective. Evgeny's team worked perfectly: TOTAL received the expected result from the point of view of budget and quality, in the planned time exactly, and PSO-13 gained valuable experience.”

By the time the project started, we had already built several auto components factories and warehouses for the automotive industry, so it was diffi cult to call us newcomers. But the implementation of the TOTAL VOSTOK project has strengthened us with additional technological competencies and enriched the experience of the interaction of a large international team. Aft er successful cooperation with TOTAL, we have already received several off ers from Russian and foreign petrochemical groups to take part in their projects. 

Once again, we thank our customer and all participants for the work done!

Full version of the magazine you can read here.