Vessco Engineering Limited Pressure Vessels, Skid Packages, Heat Exchangers for Oil and Gas Operations

Vessco Engineering Limited designs and builds pressure vessels, columns, shell and tube heat exchangers, air cooler heat exchangers, skid packages, reactors, tanks, drums, and pressurised columns for the petroleum, LNG and petrochemical industries.

Our products have been exported to all continents of the world and range in size, from just a few kilograms up to 120t.

Steels, alloys, and materials for onshore and offshore locations

We manufacture in:

• Carbon steel
• HIC-resistant steels
• Stainless steels
• Chrome molybdenum steels
• Duplex and super duplex steels
• Nickel alloys
• Clad materials
• Corrosion resistant alloys
• Aluminium.

We supply products for onshore and offshore locations and in single units or packages of more than 40 pressure vessels/exchangers.

Design and manufacture of specialist pressure vessels

Design and manufacture of pressure vessels is Vessco Engineering’s core business. We are capable of fabricating complex and intricate units using precision engineering techniques, right up to the largest pressure vessels transportable by road. We can manufacture heavy walled pressure vessels at up to 200mm thick, and at diameters of up to 5,500mm.

We can manufacture specialist vessels, varieties that include:

• Jacketed vessels
• Limpet coil vessels
• Reactor vessels
• Filter / dryer vessels
• Lobster back vessels
• Vessels with complex internal structures
• Surge vessels with internal rubber bladders
• Deaerator vessels
• Spherical pressure vessels
• Filter vessels

We have made explosively bonded, rolled clad and weld clad vessels and can internally weld clad nozzles as small as 2in nominal bore.

Assembled skid packages for mechanical equipment

Pre-assembled skid packages are a specialisation of Vessco Engineering. Our technical team undertakes structural design, piping stress analysis, P and ID development, isometric drawings, 3D and 2D drawings, finite element analysis, electrical and pneumatic control schedules and drawings.

Our skid packages have included single vessels or exchangers and occasionally complex packages, with more than ten pressure components on the same unit. We can produce modular packages, which consist of a number of units bolted or welded together after delivery.

The advantage of this approach is that the skid packages, too large for shipment as a whole, can be manufactured in a well-controlled factory environment and assembled on site; this decreases site construction time, minimising plant downtime and reducing the likelihood of construction related injuries.

Pressurised columns for petroleum, LNG and petrochemical industries

Vessco Engineering has manufactured columns over 40m in length and weighing greater than 120t. Columns have been shipped to the UK, USA, Korea, North Africa, Middle East, South America and elsewhere in Europe. We are able to transport completed units through an unrestricted height route to the nearby Barry port, from where columns can be shipped worldwide.

Vessco has manufactured columns for distillation and fractionation for refineries and amine removal columns, scrubbing, de-ethaniser and sulphur removal for natural gas plants. We have also manufactured many replacement top and bottom sections for existing columns; including two 40t stainless steel bottom replacement sections for Sonatrach in Algeria.

Working closely with the plant operator, and local installation and maintenance company, Vessco provided on-site supervision and a team of welders to join the new and existing column sections. The scope of work included removal of pipework, insulation, platform and ladders and instrumentation. After the cranage operation, Vessco personnel cut the 60mm thick stainless steel column, prepped the edges and carried out on-site welding of the repaired unit.

Air-cooled heat exchangers

Vessco design and manufacture high quality air-coolers, including complete units with fans, plenums and structural components, drives and louvers. We also make replacement air-cooler bundles for existing units.

We have manufactured single units and also a number of multiple unit air-coolers, including ten stainless steel air-coolers for a UK site, 24 replacement bundles for an oil refinery and multi-units for chemical plants and power stations.

We can refurbish, shot blast and repaint existing air-cooler header boxes or supply full replacement bundles. Often fast efficient turnaround is essential, we can provide a 24 hour, seven days a week service when customers demand short lead times.

Shell and tube heat exchanger manufacturer

Shell and tube heat exchangers are a major product line for Vessco. We design and manufacture exchangers in a huge range of materials and design to meet ASME VIII, EN13445, PD5500 and TEMA standards. We recently completed three heat exchangers each with over 2,000 tubes for a UK refinery, each with large vapour belts on the shell side inlet and outlet nozzles.

Retubes and refurbishments are carried out to tight timescales and tolerances. We can replace a proportion of the tubes in a bundle or manufacture a new bundle with new tube sheets and baffles. When possible we reuse those materials, which can be successfully reclaimed.

Carbon steel and stainless steel tanks and drums

Vessco produces a variety of shop-built carbon steel and stainless steel tanks and drums. Rectangular open top or fully enclosed tanks are manufactured to customer requirements. Cylindrical tanks and drums are also made from 1m to 5m in diameter by up to 15m for vertical items, and up to 50m in length for the largest horizontal tanks.

Often customers require ladders, platforms, and handrailings to be provided, as well as level indicators, weirs and other internals fitted. Vessco design and build the units, corrosion protect as required, deliver, offload and can provide and fit pipework spools if requested.

Vessco provides mechanical and thermal designs according to ASME VIII, PD5500, EN13445, CODAP and TEMA standards. We are ASME Certificate U holders, Lloyds Register Marine-certified, DNV-registered, and underpin our design credentials with ISO9001 quality-certification, ISO14001 environmental-certification and numerous customer approval registrations.