ROBOTIC INSPECTIONS MEETING API 653 TEST STANDARDS
VERITANK, a Houston-based autonomous robotic tank inspection provider, has recently successfully completed a round of non-destructive testing (NDT) on a plate with known manufactured defects that meet the standards of API 653, Annex G.5.1, Qualification Test Plates. The testing took place at Veritank’s headquarters where the company has installed a high accuracy x,y,z submerged, 7’x 20’ (2.1 m x 6.1 m) motorised test table that is capable of scanning actual tank floor sections. In this round of testing, Veritank used the two NDT technologies currently available on their in-service inspection robot – Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) and Phased Array Ultrasonic […]
BEYOND REACH… THE IMPENDING IMPACT OF BREXIT ON CHEMICAL STORAGE IN THE UK
HAVING officially left the European Union, the UK is now in an interim period covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, in which EU laws continue to apply. However, when we get to the end of 2020, all EU legislation will cease to apply in the UK – including REACH, the EU regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed that the UK will implement its own version of REACH on 31 December 2020. UK REACH will be run by Defra and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and […]
ENSURING PROCESS SAFETY IN A PANDEMIC
THE LESSONS Learned Bulletin on Chemical Accident Prevention and Preparedness (CAPP) is a publication of the Major Accident Hazards Bureau (MAHB) of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). The MAHB is the EU’s centre of reference for study and exchange of information on chemical accident analysis and risk management. It fulfils obligations imposed by the Seveso Directive (2012/18/EU) to collect information on major chemical accidents occurring in the EU Member States and disseminating their lessons learned. It also facilitates exchange on chemical accidents in OECD countries, as part of over two decades of collaboration with the OECD Working Group […]
RELEASE OF HAZARDOUS VAPOURS AT LG POLYMERS CHEMICAL PLANT IN INDIA
MEDIA reports of the release of hazardous vapours from a chemical plant in India with fatalities in the surrounding neighbourhood1,2,3 awakens memories of 2-3 December 1984 and the disaster in Bhopal4. The incident in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India has multiple causes as described in the Report of the Joint Monitoring Committee to the National Green Tribunal5 which investigated the accident. Particularly problematic was the occurrence during the COVID-19 shutdown, which not only contributed to the incident itself, but also complicated the medical response. The styrene release led to at least 12 deaths, 3,000 affected individuals and the precautionary evacuation of […]
STANDING OUT IN A CROWDED MARKET
IN THE 16th century, Antwerp, in Belgium, was already a hugely significant and growing global port, and it was said that half of the world’s trade passed through its docks. The traders brought great wealth to the city, which was growing rapidly. In a little over 150 years, the population had risen from around 20,000 to more than 100,000. It was in this bustling atmosphere that the general cargo handler that would become Belgian terminal operator Noord Natie came into being. Handling mostly cargoes from Northern Europe, over the next four centuries the company grew, becoming one of the biggest […]
THE ONE-STOP FAMILY SHOP
WHILE much of the news in the tank terminals business is about the boom in oil storage as a result of COVID-19, companies storing other types of products are continuing to see steady, less dramatic demand increases. One such business is Maastank, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dekker Group, situated in the Botlek area of the Port of Rotterdam. Maastank specialises in handling vegetable oils, fats, specialities, oleochemicals, base oils and biofuel. At present, it has 22 mild steel tanks and 52 stainless steel tanks, varying in size from 70 m3 to 2,400 m3, with a total storage capacity […]
EXPANDING IN THE NORDICS AND BEYOND, SUSTAINABLY
SWEDISH chemical supplier and trader Wibax grabbed headlines recently when it bought Baltic Tank, a chemical terminals operator in neighbouring Finland. Prior to the acquisition of Baltic Tank, Wibax already had nine terminals in Sweden and another in Finland, with a total storage capacity of 450,000 m3, and offices in Sweden, Norway and Finland. Its main storage products include tall oil, pitch, mixed fatty acids, and chemicals, of which the two major products are caustic soda and sulphuric acid. In recent years it has also developed the biofuels side of the business, demand for which is growing in Sweden, particularly […]
EPCA ANNUAL MEETING ENVISIONS THE POST-PANDEMIC WORLD
EPCA acts as the primary business network in Europe for the global petrochemical community, bringing together more than 700 companies from more than 50 countries. Its annual meeting is the largest petrochemical industry event in Europe, and would normally attract around 2,500 attendees. While the global COVID-19 pandemic means the event cannot physically take place, organisers are still planning a virtual event, Beyond the New Normal, on the theme ‘Building a smarter, circular and more inclusive post-pandemic world: Contributions of the petrochemical industry.’ The event is free of charge for delegates of EPCA companies that paid their 2020 membership fees. […]
HOW COVID-19 & THE PLUMMETING OIL PRICE HAS IMPACTED THE GLOBAL STORAGE MARKET
IN THE second of the new professional webinar series, held on 18 June 2020, Tank Storage Magazine spoke to three experts to find out how the global oil storage market has been affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic and what might happen next. The webinar, entitled ‘How COVID-19 & the plummeting oil price has impacted the global storage market’, was moderated by Patrick Kulsen, managing director of economics forecasting organisation Global Insight. THE OIL INDUSTRY POST COVID-19 Charles Daly, chairman of Channoil Consulting, gave the first talk of the webinar, on what the oil industry might look like once the […]
WHAT DOES THE EU’S CLEAN HYDROGEN STRATEGY MEAN FOR STORAGE?
THE European Commission’s latest action in this area is the publication of a Clean Hydrogen Strategy. The EU clean hydrogen strategy is focused on creating ‘clean’ hydrogen supply chains in the EU and developing EU leadership in clean hydrogen infrastructure such as electrolysers. The objective is to use clean hydrogen to help the process of decarbonising the EU economy in a cost-effective way, improving EU energy security by reducing reliance on Russian and US oil and gas as well as to meet the EU 2050 climate-neutrality goal. A new objective is to boost investment in Europe to help overcome the […]
WHEN SUPPLY OUTSTRIPS DEMAND
Kpler’s Alex Booth looks at how the global crude crisis in 2020 came about, how it affected storage and the direction of the trends now. THE BUILD-UP TO THE GLOBAL CRUDE OVERHANG – A PRICE WAR COMPOUNDED BY COVID-19 The build-up to the global crude crisis started long before COVID-19 decimated demand. OPEC+ had been cutting output since 2016 to try and limit the slide in oil prices brought about from the rise of US shale oil production. As US production continued to grow and the coalition continued to lose market share, tensions frayed as to the best approach to […]
NEW LAND FOR NEW OIL TERMINALS
IN 2017, Tank Storage Magazine reported on the start of work on a 3,485 acre (1,410 ha) man-made island off the south-western coast of Johor in Malaysia, that had been created by Malaysia’s largest publicly listed marine construction company Benalec, to offer an alternative location for oil and gas storage The first 100-acre land of the Tanjung Piai Maritime Industrial Park (TPMIP) is now fully reclaimed and ready for the top-side development of a greenfield oil terminal. TPMIP has more than 7 km of coastline and natural deepwater of 30 metres, allowing it to accommodate the largest ships in the […]
COVID-19 AND THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION: WHAT NEXT?
FOR obvious reasons, 2020 is not a year any of us will ever forget. At the time of writing, however, there were reminders of what life was like before a tiny virus turned our world upside down: across Europe, bars and hairdressers re-opened and holiday makers crowded to beaches. Across the Asia Pacific region, recovery was underway in those countries that acted quickly to contain COVID-19. Oil prices, too, were showing some signs of pre-COVID-19 normality, holding steady in a US$40–45 per barrel. Yet it’s a veneer of normality against a backdrop of ongoing infection and unprecedented economic disruption. Politicians […]
Singapore embraces IMO 2020 and more sustainable future
THE PORT of Singapore is a major global hub port, connected to 600 ports in more than 120 countries. At any one time, there are over 1,000 ships at the port and more than 130,000 ships visit annually. It is also the world’s largest bunkering port by volume, with more than 47 million tonnes of fuel sold in 2019. On 1 January 2020, new regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on the amount of sulphur permitted in fuel oil used on board ships came into force. Under the IMO 2020 standard, fuel cannot contain more than 0.50% sulphur. To […]
How to improve diversity & inclusion within the tank storage sector – register for the upcoming webinar
Some of the most successful organisations in the world are made up of the most diverse teams. This webinar features Ollie Folayan, Chair of the Association for BME Engineers, who will provide an update on why Diversity and Inclusion is so important & strategies that can be implemented within the tank storage sector. Folayan has been involved with a number of successful community initiatives through organizations such as Shell and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is a member of the All Energy Diversity and Inclusion task group setup in 2019 by Oil and Gas UK. Following his presentation, you will […]
Expanding in the Nordics and beyond, sustainably
Wibax CEO Jonas Wiklund explains the company’s acquisition of Baltic Tank and looks to the future of the business. Swedish chemical supplier and trader Wibax grabbed headlines recently when it bought Baltic Tank, a chemical terminals operator in neighbouring Finland. Prior to the acquisition of Baltic Tank, Wibax already had nine terminals in Sweden and another in Finland, with a total storage capacity of 450,000 m3, and offices in Sweden, Norway and Finland. Its main storage products include tall oil, pitch, mixed fatty acids, and chemicals, of which the two major products are caustic soda and sulphuric acid. In recent […]
Security and safety regulations – what terminal operators need to know
Peter Lidiak, vice president of regulatory affairs, International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA), looks at the latest US standards. Peter Lidiak, Peter Lidiak, ILTA vice president of regulatory affairs Security and safety are two core values of bulk liquid terminal operators. As part of the critical infrastructure community, bulk liquid terminals must pay close attention to the safety of not only their workers and contractors but also the communities in which they operate. And because bulk liquid terminals serve as a hub for all modes of surface transportation, including pipelines, rail, ships, barges and trucks, they must be secure to safeguard […]
How COVID-19 & the plummeting oil price has impacted the global storage market
In the second of the new professional webinar series, held on 18th June 2020, Tank Storage Magazine spoke to three experts to find out how the global oil storage market has been affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic and what might happen next. The webinar, entitled ‘How COVID-19 & the plummeting oil price has impacted the global storage market’, was moderated by Patrick Kulsen, Managing Director of economics forecasting organisation Global Insight. THE OIL INDUSTRY POST COVID-19 Charles Daly, Chairman of Channoil Consulting, gave the first talk of the webinar, on what the oil industry might look like once the […]
Innovation encore
There was a lot to see in the iTanks Innovation Zone at this year’s StocExpo Rotterdam in March. Together with a group of partners from the iTanks network, the zone was packed with novelties for the tank storage industry. For those who could not come to the innovation zone, here is a recap of what you missed: iTANKS is a knowledge and innovation platform for the portrelated industry, an industry with a high innovation potential. The platform connects companies, knowledge institutes and industry experts with each other and introduces these parties with new technology and the latest innovations from within […]
Integrating design, safety and construction
How to reduce construction accidents by implementing better safety measures during the design and planning phase. THE CONSTRUCTION industry faces two challenges that are usually considered separately: the lack of specifics, synergy, and effectiveness, between the safety planning and construction process; and the lack of concurrence between the design and construction process. This article integrates constructability and safety planning in a unique and simultaneous procedure. This is obtained by analysing construction details by means of building information modelling (BIM) that express and simulate the breakdown of project phases, chronologically processed and logically related. In these modellings, all the elements of […]
Managing your aluminium dome asset
In today’s world of uncertainty, it becomes very important to maintain and manage current assets. Geodesic aluminum domes are an investment within our oil and gas industry that protects the product in the storage tank and has a service life of 50 plus years with some maintenance along the way. WHAT is a geodesic dome? A geodesic dome is a site specific, structurally engineered dome roof composed from an integrated aluminum system of interlocking panels, extruded struts, gusset plates, batten bars and hubs. Why do I want a geodesic dome? One major reason is to seal the tank from the […]
Tank bottom life, risk-based inspection and corrosion
What it takes to implement corrosion prediction of tank bottoms. INDUSTRY tank standards set limits on how long flat bottom tanks may be operated before being internally inspected [sidebar 1] based on tank bottom corrosion rates. But many companies are not collecting sufficient data or even the right kinds of data that would actually save them significant costs or even provide them with good optimal operating intervals. Moreover, without appropriate data collection, tank bottom life estimating methods such as ‘similar service’, ‘risk-based inspection’, and statistical methods cannot be properly used. The purpose of this paper is to deliver the following […]
Hurricane preparedness plans for storage terminals
WITH hurricane season approaching, now is the time to develop a hurricane preparedness plan (HPP) to ensure the durability and functionality of exposed storage tank terminals. Developed by engineers, HPPs set forth specific action items designed to help storage tanks withstand the impacts of varying categories of hurricanes. Heavy rainfall and inland flooding, tornadoes, storm surge, tidal changes, and high winds can contribute to the failure of a storage tank. Careful forethought and mitigation can reduce the severity of all damage and adequately protect the integrity of a facility. Sample inundation model REFERENCES FOR AN HPP Various standards and guidance […]
Safety as standard no matter the scenario
COVID-19 has seen a dramatic fall in fuel demand as fewer planes take to the skies and drivers keep their cars off the road. This knock-on effect has meant fuel storage tanks around the world are rapidly reaching capacity and has led to producers scrambling for places to store their excess production. Oil companies have been searching for alternative ways to store crude as traditional storage becomes more expensive and harder to find. One suggested method has been to store fuel in freight trains. However, the director of liquid operations at US-based Colonial Terminals Michael Mashburn, advises producers should proceed […]
Tank Storage Awards: The winners of 2020
This year’s Global Tank Storage Awards was one of the last events before coronavirus restrictions came into force across the globe. Find out more about why this years winners deserved to be recognised for their achievements in safety, sustainability and innovation. DESPITE the challenging circumstances nearly 200 attendees gathered at Rotterdam’s Floating Pavilion on the 10th of March for the fourth edition of the awards ceremony, celebrating excellence within the terminal industry. The evening honoured the sector’s high achievers, recent innovations, emerging technologies, environmental breakthroughs, and leading ports and terminals. Tank Storage Magazine caught up with the winners to share […]
Fuel flows and floating storage: The new normal?
Oil analytics firm Vortexa shares its insights on the rapid expansion of global floating storage across the oil complex, and how oil flows are being reshaped in unexpected ways in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. GLOBAL markets in the first half of 2020 are oversupplied with oil products at levels not previously experienced by the industry. Transportation restrictions have forced refiners to reduce output, to adjust product yields and bring forward maintenance. The net result is a glut of historic proportions that has accumulated in onshore and offshore storage for both crude and refined oil products. In this low […]
Tank Shortage 2020
With dramatic demand drops amid worldwide COVID-19 quarantines, everyone’s talking about storage. Paul Wiseman takes a close look at the impact it’s having on the US market. USUALLY the rest of the world, including the oil and gas upstream sector, takes tank storage for granted. It is just a stop for petroleum and refined products on the way to buses, cars or boats. But with COVID-19 quarantines slashing global energy demand by as much as 30%, even the historic production cut agreement with OPEC+, combined with significant capex cuts by non-OPEC producers, still leaves much more production than the market […]
Flexibility is the key to growth
With the pressure on for more storage capacity around the world, Moda Midstream has space to expand. However, as its CEO Bo McCall reveals, growth plans must be flexible as well as prudent. LIQUID terminal provider Moda Midstream completed its 10 millionbarrel crude oil expansion in April, adding 495,000-barrels of tankage at its facility at Moda Ingleside Energy Center (MIEC) in Texas, USA. The company was able to bring this project around six months ahead of schedule, at a time when storage capacity is in high demand. The company is now working on a further 3.5 million barrel construction and […]
Microbial contamination in biodiesel storage tanks
As a result of heightened regulatory measures to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, the composition of the fuels used has changed dramatically in recent years. When these biofuels come into contact with water, microbial contamination can occur in the tank. MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION Traditionally when straight hydrocarbon fuels were used, you could have a tank that was 50 years old and never been cleaned out, and as long as that suction point – the point where the fuel leaves the tank – was above where the water and sludge was sitting, there would be no issues […]
The bright light amidst today’s energy uncertainty
COVID-19’s impact on the infrastructure market has been widely publicised. Some assets, formerly viewed as safe investments, have faced unexpected and unprecedented challenges. But amidst this challenging environment, one particular asset class has begun to thrive – liquid storage. Storage terminals worldwide have benefited from the supply/demand imbalance as a direct consequence of the global pandemic. Stable assets at a ‘stand-still’ It’s clear that traditionally ‘safe’ investments are experiencing difficulties. European airports, for example, are now either full or largely closed, causing their conservative pension fund or insurance company investors sleepless nights – with prolonged airport closures not a downside […]
External hazard effects on steel and concrete refrigerated liquefied gas tanks
The selection of a refrigerated liquefied gas (RLG) storage system concept is often based on the ability of the tank system to contain leaks from the primary containment and to limit potential effects on the environment and surrounding properties. The storage tank system and tank material selection are based on both safety and economics considerations to provide a safe storage solution for both the owner and public while being economically feasible. External hazards play a significant role in the selection of the tank containment system and materials of construction. The various external hazards which can affect a tank system and […]
COVID-19 pandemic: cyber security lessons learned
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that we need to be prepared to handle extraordinary situations that impact our business when measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 were put in place by governments worldwide. These measures have had, and continue to have, a major impact in the way that we conduct business and operate our facilities. Organizations often had to fall back on business continuity plans in order to cope with the situation. On top of this, there is an increased threat from cyber-attacks that exploit this extraordinary situation. People For most tank terminal organisations, there will be […]
