A.H. Beck installs several vertical oil pumps for a refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela using over 2500 drilled shafts.
This project originally required 1,100 drilled shafts, 48 to 72 inches in diameter, 50 feet deep, for a connecting pipe rack 4.4 miles long between two new facilities of the “Petroleos de Venezuela” (PDVSA) Cardon Refinery in Venezuela. The soil conditions varied considerably, ranging from very soft to hard and abrasive coquina. The 72 inch diameter shafts were drilled to install several vertical oil pumps throughout the refinery. A. H. Beck teamed with a local contractor who provided labor, support equipment, and materials for the project. A. H. Beck completed the original scope of the contract in six months. Consequently, A. H. Beck’s contract was amended to include additional work directly resulting from the speed of the original construction. The final scope of A. H. Beck’s contribution to the project included over 2,500 drilled shafts, and the entire job was completed in only nine months.
