8.8 km of steel cord conveyor belt for a Saudi Arabian refinery: the 2024 SIG case study

In 2024, SIG designed, manufactured and supplied around 8.8 km of steel cord conveyor belt for a new petrochemical refinery near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The conveyor belt system handles abrasive petroleum coke in extreme desert temperatures and was completed in nine months, from the first technical contact to on-site installation.

SIG managed the entire process in-house — belt engineering, rubber compounding, production, quality testing and worldwide shipment — and the steel cord belt has run without interruption since May 2024. This case study explains how the belt was projected, manufactured and installed, and why a steel cord carcass was the right choice for long-distance bulk material handling in the oil & gas sector.

Project at a glance: technical data

 What plant was the conveyor belt supply built for?

The supply was delivered to a new oil refinery near Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, owned by one of the country's leading petrochemical companies. The customer contacted SIG in 2023 to equip two new conveying lines for its bulk material handling system.

Refineries are usually associated with liquids — crude oil moved through pipelines and tankers. In this case, however, the material to be moved was a bulk solid: petroleum coke (petcoke). This carbon-rich by-product of the refining process cannot be transported in pipes or tanker trucks, so a continuous belt conveyor system was the only viable solution to feed the plant 24/7 without spillage or supply-chain interruptions.

What challenges does supplying steel cord belts to a petrochemical plant pose?

The core challenge was guaranteeing uninterrupted material handling over long conveying distances, while transporting a highly abrasive material in extreme desert conditions.

In the oil & gas sector, an unplanned conveyor stoppage is extremely costly, so reliability and belt service life were the top priorities. The main technical constraints were:

• Length: 8.8 km of conveyor belt, split across two overland conveying lines.
• Environment: above-ground installation with no protective hoods, exposed to direct UV radiation and summer temperatures of 40–50 °C.
• Material: petroleum coke, abrasive and handled around the clock.
• Continuity: zero tolerance for supply-chain interruptions or belt downtime.
• Deadline: delivery on site by April, installation by end of May, to avoid working through the summer heat.

How was the conveyor belt designed for these conditions?

SIG's technical department based the belt design on three factors: the length of the system, the abrasiveness of the petroleum coke and the desert climate. Each factor influenced a different part of the belt specification — the carcass, the cover rubber compound and the cover thickness.

Why a steel cord belt instead of a textile belt?

For conveyor systems longer than 500 meters, steel cord belts are the standard choice because they resist permanent elongation. Textile (EP) beltsrely on nylon and polyester carcasses (EP/NN plies), which stretch under load far more than steel cables — typically around 1.5–3% elongation versus roughly 0.2–0.3% for steel cord.

Lower elongation means less take-up travel, better belt tracking and greater dimensional stability over long center distances. For an 8.8 km system, SIG selected its SIDERFLEX steel cord belt in the ID (closed) construction as its cable geometry keeps elongation to a minimum and delivers excellent trough ability, splice efficiency and lateral flexibility. The table below summarizes why a steel cord carcass wins for long-distance, high-tension conveying:

Why the “EC” rubber compound (DIN 22102 W grade)?

Petroleum coke is not a cutting material, but its constant abrasion wears down the belt top covers and forces early replacement. To protect the steel cord carcass and avoid downtime, SIG used its “EC” rubber compound, equivalent to the W grade of the DIN 22102 standard for abrasion-resistant covers. Its main properties are:

• Abrasion loss of 90 mm³ or less (DIN abrasion test).
• Increased resistance to cuts, impact and tearing.
• Continuous working temperature up to 70 °C, with peaks of 90 °C.

Because the belt was fully exposed to the sun, the surface temperature of the top cover rose well beyond ambient levels. The W-grade compound met all necessary chemical requirements, making it the best fit for an outdoor, unhooded overland conveyor in a desert climate.

How do you manage large-scale production and export?

The customer needed delivery on site by April. SIG planned production around raw-material availability: the EC compound was already in stock, while the steel cords were sourced from Bekaert (Belgium), a leading wire manufacturer. SIG's purchasing team secured more than 7.5 km of ID1000 and up to 2 km of ID500 cord (both 1400 mm wide) in just seven weeks — slightly more than required, to keep a safety stock.

Every batch of steel carcass and rubber compound was tested in SIG's internal laboratory before and after production, with quality control checks including elongation at break, abrasion loss and tensile strength. Manufacturing then took eight weeks and produced:

• 24 rolls of SIDERFLEX ID1000 6+4 EC, 1400 mm wide (300 m each).
• 4 rolls of SIDERFLEX ID500 6+4 EC, 1400 mm wide (400 m each).

Worldwide shipment and packaging

Saudi environmental law prohibits plastic packaging, so SIG designed special steel reels that complied with the rules while fully protecting the belts during loading, transit and unloading. Fourteen trucks collected the 28 steel reels from SIG's warehouse within a week and moved them to the Port of Genoa for sea shipment to Saudi Arabia. Only ten days passed between the end of production and the completed truck dispatch.

How was the steel cord belt installed on site?

SIG does not run an in-house installation crew, but it provides on-site technical supervision on request. For this project, a SIG technician travelled to Saudi Arabia to inspect the conveyor belt installation, while the local team followed SIG's installation manual and splicing procedure. The technician advised on best practices for belt handling and splicing and together with the customer's maintenance team they inspected the installed belts before commissioning.

Results and figures

The project ran for nine months, from technical analysis to commissioning. Once a shared technical solution was agreed, the commercial deal followed quickly because the customer wanted a high-quality, technologically advanced Italian-made conveyor belt. Key figures:

• 9 months from first technical contact to on-site commissioning.
• 7,200 m of SIDERFLEX ID1000 6+4 EC (W grade), 1400 mm wide.
• 1,600 m of SIDERFLEX ID500 6+4 EC (W grade), 1400 mm wide.
• 8 weeks of manufacturing.
• 28 steel reels shipped to Saudi Arabia.
• Zero interruptions or quality issues since May 2024.

Why choose SIG for international conveyor belt projects

SIG is the one and only Italian manufacturer producing both rubber conveyor belts and rubber elevator belts. It manages the entire process internally — belt engineering, rubber compounding, production, quality testing and export logistics — and supplies belts that meet international standards such as DIN 22102. This end-to-end control is what allows SIG to deliver complex, large-scale conveyor belt supplies on demanding deadlines anywhere in the world, from petrochemical refineries and ports to mining and cement plants.

Conclusion

In nine months, SIG designed, produced, tested, shipped and supervised the installation of 8.8 km of steel cord conveyor belt for a Saudi Arabian refinery handling abrasive petroleum coke in extreme heat. The combination of the SIDERFLEX ID construction and the EC (W-grade) cover compound has kept the conveyor system running without interruption since May 2024 — a clear demonstration of SIG's engineering, rubber-compounding and export capabilities for long-distance bulk material handling.

FAQ

Does SIG produce conveyor belts for petrochemical plants?

Yes. SIG designs and manufactures steel cord conveyor belts for petrochemical and refining plants, including belts engineered for abrasive materials such as petroleum coke.

Does SIG handle conveyor belt installation abroad?

SIG does not have an in-house installation crew, but on request it provides on-site technical supervision: a SIG technician oversees the installation and splicing and inspects the belt together with the customer's maintenance team.

What is the maximum belt length SIG can supply?

SIG supplies multi-kilometer conveyor systems. In this project alone it delivered 8.8 km of belt across two lines, produced and shipped as 28 reels. Depending on rubber conveyor belt weight and thickness, SIG can manufacture belts up to a maximum single roll length of 500 meters.

Why use a steel cord belt instead of a textile (EP) belt?

For systems longer than 500 meters, steel cord belts resist permanent elongation far better than textile (EP/NN) belts — around 0.2–0.3% versus 1.5–3% — which reduces take-up travel and makes them the standard choice for long-distance and overland conveyors.

What rubber compound is best for conveying petroleum coke?

Because petcoke is highly abrasive, an abrasion-resistant cover such as a DIN 22102 W-grade compound (SIG's “EC”) protects the carcass, with abrasion loss of 90 mm³ or less and good resistance to cuts and high temperatures.

Can steel cord belts operate in high-temperature desert environments?

Yes. With the right cover compound, steel cord belts run reliably outdoors under direct UV and ambient temperatures of 40–50 °C; SIG's EC compound handles continuous service up to 70 °C with peaks of 90 °C.

Get in touch with SIG: one of the steel cord conveyor belt manufacturers in Italy

Planning a similar conveyor belt project? Contact SIG, the leading Italian manufacturer of rubber conveyor and elevator belts.

Email: sig@sig.it Phone: +39 0331 36 51 35