Indonesia | RDMP Balikpapan

Menard Asia provided design and built solution that generated savings for the client and successfully carried out the work with no incident nor injuries. Menard Asia’s track record in ground improvement work and long-term relationship with the client made us the first choice to carried out the required ground improvement works for about 30 hectares.

Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) Pertamina in Balikpapan is one of national strategic project. The Balikpapan RDMP project not only aims to increase the refinery capacity, but also realizes a green refinery that produces products with quality and high value, and is environmentally friendly, according to the Euro V standard.

Ground Condition

The ground of the project site comprises of loose to medium dense sand (NSPT 1-27) on the upper layer which is prone to liquefaction. Therefore, the ground improvement for this project is designed to mitigate the liquefaction potential. Menard Asia’s provided design and build solutions for the project and installed Stone Columns of up to 15 m depth. During the implementation of Stone Columns work, an environmental issue occurred due to the presence of H2S contaminant beneath 4 m below ground which affect the Stone Columns construction work.

Solutions

To overcome this issue, several options have been discussed and one of those options is to implement Controlled Modulus Columns (CMC) for the contaminated part of the subsoil layer, while keeping the Stone Columns for the upper part, therefore creating a ground improvement method called Bi-Modulus Columns (BMC).

The project was relying on the operation of 4 stone column rigs and 2 CMC rigs with up to 110 manpower on site at its peak. Enforcement of stringent HSEQ practices, regular meetings and constant communication with the main contractors helped the team to improve the production process and to meet client’s requirements on time.