At remote locations in eastern Yemen, diesel fuel powers drilling rigs and also serves as the lifeblood for their trucking fleet. Traditionally, trucks haul in their own diesel supply to transport crude-filled tanks to far away refineries. In 2003, Ventech provided an innovative solution to significantly lower fuel operation and transport costs in these regions.

When Yemen sought a more cost-efficient method of transporting crude oil from rig sites to their refineries, Ventech was hired to design and implement a production unit that could process the crude into diesel on location. Taking only 6 months from project initiation to delivery at the Port of Houston, Ventech supplied Yemen with a modular diesel-production unit capable of providing 500 barrels per day (bpd) of on-specification diesel for Yemen’s trucking fleet and drilling machinery.

Ventech supplied equipment specialists to train local Yemeni operators in the proper deployment of the plant. This training allowed the local operators to deploy the fully assembled and operational plant in two weeks.

Relying on a network of skilled personnel and venders local to Ventech’s Houston-based operations is what allowed Ventech to design, fabricate and test the diesel production unit at such an accelerated pace. There was no need for the client to spend extensive time and resources coordinating and hiring local engineers or construction talent in Yemen. Because the plant is modular, only five trucks are needed to transport the diesel production unit.

The diesel output of this unit is of a much higher quality than can be procured locally for industrial machinery. This provides the client with the added benefit of lower long-term maintenance costs and increased equipment lifespan.

With this modular diesel-production unit, Ventech proved it is able to provide an efficient on-site diesel-production capability to oil rig locations anywhere in the world.