13,500 bored piles on a groundbreaking oil refinery project Featured

Keller has delivered one of its largest projects, constructing 13,500 bored piles for the development of a groundbreaking oil refinery in Rajasthan.

The project that Keller is involved in will be one of India's largest and will create tens of thousands of jobs. The $6 billion Barmer refinery and petrochemical complex are scheduled to be completed in 2022.  The refinery will have a 9-million-ton capacity, making it one of the largest in the country.

Keller has been proudly involved in the project since winning a competitive tender in 2019 from public sector contractor Engineers India. The project is being developed as a joint venture between the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and the Government of Rajasthan, and will provide an economic boost to the region, prioritizing local people for around 40,000 jobs.

Keller's project involved 400 workers in order to construct bored cast-in-situ piles to depths of around 15m-17m. Keller India used its experience of large projects to estimate the inventory for the entire project and kept a month’s supply of materials on site. This approach meant “we were not idle for a single day," Shashikant Kunvar, Site Manager, stated.

Extreme conditions

“The refinery is being built in the desert in western Rajasthan, and although we didn’t have any difficulties with the ground conditions, the temperatures were very high – around 50ºC – with no greenery or cover at all. We also faced regular sandstorms, so a big concern was looking after the team,” Kunvar, said.

A series of shelters were constructed where workers could have regular breaks, take refreshments and escape the intense sands. Teams also took mandatory three-to-four hour breaks in the middle of the day to avoid the highest temperatures.

A gateway to future projects

As the project progressed successfully, Keller was asked by the client to extend the original contracted works by an additional 2,200 piles – taking the total to around 13,500.

The works took around eight months to complete and Shashikant says the team “had great feedback from the customer, who has awarded us an additional scope of 10,000 piles for this year, with more to come in future."