Moving mountains (Well, Modules)

The Alevro team is gearing up for one of the most significant projects in the northwest -Project Ceres. Spanning 18 months, the project involves the transport and installation of 113 modules and over 61 items of major equipment.

The scope of work for this project is no small feat. The team is responsible for the self-propelled modular trailer (SPMT) module movement, overseeing the offload of all modules and the major equipment from ships and their transport to site for installation.

Up to 45 people, including offsite engineers, will be working on the project, ensuring everything runs smoothly.

One of the biggest challenges is the sheer scale of the movements. Each module transport will cover 3.5km, far longer than previous projects, and will require over 300 road closures.

Additionally, more than 110 underground utilities and bridges have needed assessment, verification, and, in some cases, reinforcement to facilitate safe movement. The closure of the main highway on the Burrup Peninsula further adds to the logistical complexity.

Delivering an integrated service alongside the shipping contractor, the team is focused on ensuring a seamless operation.

Due to their design and configuration, transporting these modules presents unique technical and operational challenges. Fortunately, the team’s depth of engineering and operational experience positions them uniquely to tackle this challenge head-on.

Dave Muirhead, Alevro’s Manager of Projects, emphasised the importance of this undertaking, describing the Ceres project as one of the world’s largest urea plants.

“It is an exciting and challenging project technically and logistically, and we hope it will showcase our ability to manage these challenges,” Dave said.

The contract was awarded in June 2024, and mobilisation to the site began in February 2025. The first major milestone has already been achieved with the arrival of the first module shipment in March.

Activity on site will ramp up over the coming months as the frequency of module shipments increases and equipment arrives.

A particularly exciting element of the project is the upcoming movement of modules using a challenging SPMT configuration, known as 4-point suspension. Success in executing these movements will be critical to the overall project plan.

Project Ceres is set to be an impressive demonstration of the team’s ability to manage large-scale, complex operations. Stay tuned for more updates as the project progresses!