Huge Demethanizer Built In Broken Arrow Arrives In Colorado

The largest load ever moved over land in Oklahoma has arrived at its destination in Colorado.

Wednesday, November 5th 2014, 1:00 pm

By: Richard Clark

Huge Demethanizer Built In Broken Arrow Arrives In Colorado

The largest load ever moved over land in Oklahoma has arrived at its destination in Colorado.

Called a demethanizer, the 186-foot long device was built by Exterran in Broken Arrow for a gas processing plant in Fort Lupton, Colorado.

The demethanizer weighs 536,600 pounds and is so big and heavy it required a special trailer and a whole team of law enforcement officers, technicians and escort crews to get it to Colorado. The rig was 427 feet long and weighed more than 1.1 million pounds.

The load left Exterran on October 18, 2014 and arrived at Fort Lupton over the weekend.

10/18/2014: Related Story: Huge Demethanizer Transport Makes Its Way Through Oklahoma

"The move went very well. We were ahead of schedule by one day. No surprises," said Johnny Mefferd, operations manager for Northwest Logistics Heavy Haul, the company hired to move the demethanizer.

A giant crane lifted the demethanizer off its special trailer this week. Mefferd said it will take several weeks for workers to complete the construction of the device, during which it will continue to rest on its side.

In early December, a second huge crane will join the first one and lift the device into its final vertical configuration.

Mefferd says this move was more difficult than one the company did last year, when it transported an identical demethanizer from a factory in Idaho to the same gas plant in Colorado.