Motion Control & Drives


Large WEG motors on oil rigs

July 2023 Motion Control & Drives

Classified as hazardous areas, offshore oil rigs require that any equipment installed on them is certified accordingly – including electric motors to drive critical gas compressors. WEG electric motors for such hazardous marine environments comply with IEC standards and hazardous area specifications that certify equipment for use in explosive atmospheres, and conform to an IP65 rating.

Six large WEG motors were recently installed on an oil platform off the coast of Ghana. Four of the new motors were large 9500 kW MGW800 machines, and two were 7000 kW MGW710 machines. With weights of up to 23 tons, these electric motors exceeded the 19 ton weight limit of the oil platform’s crane, which meant that the motors were shipped to site in component form for assembly on site. They were upgrades of previously installed WEG motors, which had been operating successfully on this site for over a decade.

To deal with the weight restriction on the crane the electric motors were dismantled in the factory before shipping. Rather than being shipped as a single unit as usual, the motors were carefully packaged into component form. Particular care had to be taken with protecting the rotor during shipment as this was a critical item. The packages were then shipped and stored at the customer’s warehouse in Ghana before being taken to the offshore oil rig.

Zest WEG technicians then successfully assembled the electric motors on the oil platform, including the various electrical and hydraulic connections and piping.


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