Fireproofing at Statoil

For 20 years MT Højgaard has been fireproofing steel constructions at Statoil in Kalundborg, including a 30 metre high production plant consisting of 4,300 metres of steel profiles.

Statoil's refinery in Kalundborg processes crude oil and condensate into gasoline, kerosene, propane and heating oil. Working with flammable products demands a high degree of safety, so all vulnerable constructions are fireproofed with a coating of concrete to protect the steel against heat and the associated risk of collapse.

For 20 years, MT Højgaard has carried out fireproofing work for Statoil's refinery in Kalundborg. One of the larger-scale projects was the fireproofing of a 30 metre high production plant consisting of 4,300 metres of steel profiles.

Oblique angles were a challenge

The main contractor on the project, Promecon, supplied the steel profiles to our storage facility in Kalundborg, where most of the concrete coating was carried out. Promecon subsequently collected the profiles and organised the installation.

MT Højgaard then undertook the task of casting concrete around the approximately 2,900 intersection points in the steel profile construction. Up to 10 profiles joining at a single point were not uncommon, resulting in some very oblique angles. For this reason, the casing for each intersection point was specially constructed.

New methods and materials

The costs of fireproofing consist mainly of the man hours spent on the task, rather than material costs. Over time, MT Højgaard has developed new methods to increase workflow efficiency and make the task easier for our personnel when they are working at height. Today we pump concrete up instead of using buckets.

Given our long experience with fireproofing, we naturally know our materials well. Today we use a type of concrete which does not contract while hardening, since this provides the best fireproofing effect.