Caribbean Refinery

In April 2001, a Caribbean refinery experienced a tremendous fire, which destroyed a quarter of its crude unit capacity and the entire visbreaker unit. The best estimate rebuild these units was 18 to 24 months. The underwriters and plant management considered this schedule duration unacceptable. The underwriter's chief adjuster, who happened to have witnessed first hand what MEI and Clifton accomplished at Unilube several years earlier, decided to test the feasibility of utilizing the Extreme Engineering and Construction Methodology developed by Clifton.

"I consented to attempt this only if MEI was the general contractor," Clifton said. "They were the only company that had the expertise, talent and the tools to attempt a project of this magnitude and be successful."

These two units (crude and visbreaker) were reconstructed and started in five and six and one-half months, respectively. This saved over $300 million in business interruption (Bl) cost and approximately $13 million in property damage (PD) costs to the insurers!

The project peaked at more than 1,500 workers from 10 countries and over 100 on-site, full-time engineers were employed. Despite the ethnic diversity and the sheer number of works in such a confined plot space, an enviable safety record of over 2 million man-hours without a lost-time accident was achieved during these six and a half months.

"The safety of our employees and subs are of paramount importance," Campesi said. "Our goal is always to provide an accident-free work environment. We aim to perform work in the safest manner possible, consistent with good construction practices, and the only way I know to accomplish this is with an organized, effective safety program in which I am personally involved."

The refinery honored MEI with milestone plaques at both the 1 million and 2 million man-hour marks.

MEI demonstrated what can be done when a team is committed to safety. MEI has shown that a safe project can be a productive project and has set a new industry standard, exemplifying what can be accomplished when people demonstrate a commitment to safety by following a well-defined safety program. - The refinery's health and safety manager.

MEI applies the experience gained through Extreme Engineering and Construction programs to enhance its performance on maintenance and turnaround projects.