Mega Builders

The Big Rig (4x6)

Air date: Nov 18, 2009

The Aker H6e is the biggest oil rig on the planet, built for the extreme conditions of the Barents Sea, located north of Norway. Marine operations chief Knut Engebretsen and his team of Norwegian engineers have tight deadlines for some major moves to put this monster together. The oil rig is so big that half of it is being constructed in Norway and the other half is being built in Dubai where construction costs are cheaper. When the Dubai-built structure is finished, it will make the 53 day journey via the Suez Canal to Norway for final assembly. The construction crew have to 'skid' eight-thousand-tonne hull pieces on rails across a giant yard. The steel deck that goes on top of the hull weighs more than 11,000 tonnes. Raising it up in the air ten storeys will be one of the most extreme heavy lifts ever attempted by the construction crew. On top of these mega-challenges, this hardy crew of Norwegian engineers has to battle extreme bad weather along the way.