tank storage magazine january 2013

2013: is luck in store for the storage sector?

Double capacity: double trouble?

In the storm’s wake

january/february 2013

We speak to the local terminals about whetherfujairah is in danger of too much storage supply

Hurricane Sandy put terminals, tanks and thesupply chain to the ultimate test

The voice of the storage terminal industry

Volume no. 9 Issue no. 1

regIonal focuS: middle east

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TANK STORAGE • January/February 2013 1

It is safe to say that over the last few years,

where many sectors have struggled to survive

in troubled economic times, the terminal

industry has remained relatively resilient.

To see if the same will remain true for

2013 we’ve interviewed a selection of the

market leaders to hear their thoughts.

Despite a decline in demand for many

products and a slower than expected economic

recovery, all the operators we spoke to reported

positive results from 2012, with investments

and growth as fervent as ever.

What this comes down to,

we’ve found, is not so much luck,

but strategy and above all a deep

understanding of the market.

Prolonged backwardation

continues, for example, leading to

lower utilisation rates compared

to previous years. In Singapore

some of the biggest fuel oil traders

in Asia are even giving up tanks,

saying that onshore storage

has become just too expensive

under these market conditions.

Throughput, however,

remains strong as customers

use tankage more intensively. To capitalise

on this, operators need to ensure their

terminals work as effectively as possible,

focusing on customer service and safety.

When it comes to staying in the red,

the importance of understanding your

location cannot be underestimated.

In North America, for example, shale play

developments continue to stimulate new demand

for capacity, and refinery closures, product

imbalances and biofuels growth all play their part.

It is the Middle East, however, that is the

shining star of the moment. Storage capacity in

the region is anticipated to double to 15 million

m3 by 2015 from 5.4 million m3 at the end of 2012,

largely due to new refineries, pipelines and its

emergence as a new break bulk location.

Within the space of just a year up to

six terminals have or will come online,

prompting the question of whether such

a growth spurt may prove too much.

Within this issue we’ve put this question to

the local operators. The general consensus

is that over capacity will not be a problem

in the long term, and that growth will

stabilise in the next two to three years as the

market absorbs all the new capacity.

Some terminals, such as Vopak and VTTI,

however are sensibly exercising caution.

Despite having the location and space

in Fujairah and the potential to grow, the

companies are unwilling to commit to a timetable

for expansion until it is justified by market demand.

This is something the industry, as well as

us, will be keeping a close eye on this year.

For the first time Tank Storage magazine will

be the lead partner in a new event in Dubai, Tank

Storage Forum: MENA 2013, in April this year.

As mentioned, in order to succeed in

this business it is absolutely critical to stay

ahead of market changes. And that’s

where we come in – we aim to keep you

informed and, if last year is anything to go

by, 2013’s going to be another busy one!

Best wishes,

Margaret

Get a head start to the New Year

comment

Margaret DunnPublisher

As we enter 2013 there’s been a lot of talk about whether this year is lucky or unlucky. But when it comes to business, very little comes down to luck

contents

January/February 2013

Volume 9 issue 1

Horseshoe Media LtdMarshall House124 Middleton Road,Morden,Surrey SM4 6RW, UKwww.tankstoragemag.com

manaGinG DireCTorPeter PattersonTel: +44(0)20 8648 [email protected]

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DePuTy eDiTorJames BarrettTel: +44 (0)20 8687 [email protected]

assisTanT eDiTorKeeley DowneyTel: +44 (0)20 8687 [email protected]

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No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any form by any mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or other means without the prior written consent of the publisher. Whilst the information and articles in Tank Storage are published in good faith and every effort is made to check accuracy, readers should verify facts and statements direct with official sources before acting on them as the publisher can accept no responsibility in this respect. Any opinions expressed in this magazine should not be construed as those of the publisher.

ISSN 1750-841X

coNteNts

news

features

1 Comment

2 Contents

4 Terminal news

24 Technical news

30 incident update

32 Germany: new changes explained

34 2013: is luck in store for the storage sector? A snapshot of operators across the globe

share their hopes for the year to come

43 Double capacity: double trouble? Operators in Fujairah are feeling pleased

with themselves: refinery capacity is growing, the new ADCOP pipeline has just opened and the location is attracting traders from all across Asia. We speaks to the main players to find out whether they are now in danger of overcapacity..

48 Tank terminal update – middle east

53 in the storm’s wake Hurricane Sandy

shut oil distribution infrastructure in the Northeast down cold at the end of last year, putting terminals, tanks and the supply chain to the ultimate test

2 January/February 2013 • TANK STORAGE

Follow us on Twitter: @tankstorageinfo

81Covering all anglesHow one terminal combined GPS and laser scanning for a comprehensive insight into the facility’s containment capacity

72searching for a liner resistant to benzene

coNteNts

features60 renovated tank

foundations – design and safety considerations

63 is a floating roof enough for shale oil tanks?

66 making the commitment Since degassing is one

of the most dangerous and regulated procedures in a refinery, it’s important for all vendors to remain 100% dedicated to compliance and safety

67 Vapour recovery: a glossary of terms

71 logistics solution for marine loading arms holds key to refinery expansion

74 how to avoid breaking the supply chain

88 events page ad index

Front cover courtesy of CST Covers

56Training: just line a fine wine

41a Prime locationWith so much happening in Fujairah, Tank Storage magazine talks to IL&FS Prime Terminal, one of the latest companies to break ground in rapidly developing region

2013: is luck in store for the storage sector?

Double capacity: double trouble?

In the storm’s wake

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

We speak to the local terminals about whetherFujairah is in danger of too much storage supply

Hurricane Sandy put terminals, tanks and thesupply chain to the ultimate test


Volume No. 9 Issue No. 1

REGIONAL FOCUS: MIDDLE EASTFC_TSM_Jan-Feb_2013.indd 1 16/01/2013 16:56

TANK STORAGE • January/February 2013 3

85Tank storage asia 2012: good news all round

76high risk upgradesThe Port of Los Angeles is a flurry of activity as pressure intensifies to upgrade and repair oil terminals, some of which have been labelled ‘high risk’ by California state officials

contents

terminal news

CLH Group plans €60 million investment throughout 2013

Calumet completes acquisition of NuStar terminal and refinery

URS to assess Holly Energy Partners proposed pipelines

Spain-based oil transportation and

storage provider CLH Group has set

aside €60 million which it will earmark

this year for infrastructure network

expansions and improvements.

Around €41 million of this total

budget will be used for improving the

company’s storage terminal facilities.

This includes completing Phase I of

a new storage facility at the Port

of Bilbao and €2 million that will be

used to finalise the construction of

new storage terminals in Castellanos

de Moriscos (Salamanca). A further

€3 million will be used for expanding

storage capacities at other sites.

Additionally, various safety and

environmental improvement projects will

get underway this year with a €17 million

investment, and a further €15 million to

be spent on operational improvements.

CHL has dedicated €15 million to

extending its pipeline network, more

than €5 million of which will go towards

building a pipeline that will connect

its Torrejon de Ardoz-based storage

terminal and the Madrid-Barajas airport.

The company says it also wants

to expand and improve a number

of its CLH Aviacion facilities.

Between 2007 and 2011 CLH

Group spent in excess of €750 million to

establish 1.2 million m3 of new storage

capacity and over 500km of pipeline

infrastructure. This included the start-

up of new storage terminals in Arahal,

Seville; Mahon, Minorca; and Burgos.

The group also expanded storage

capacity at several centres, including

in Albuixech (Valencia), Huelva,

Leön, Gijón, Son Banya (Majorca),

Navarre, Barcelona, Castellón,

Algeciras, Cartagena and Malaga.

This significant capital expenditure

also saw expansion and improvement

works carried out at several airport

facilities, such as Alicante, Malaga,

Vigo, San Javier, Pamplona and La

Rioja. CLH also built on its aviation

fuel distribution network at Barcelona

airport, with the construction of two

new fuel supply lines between the CLH

Aviación facility and the new hydrant

network in El Prat’s new Terminal 1.

Calumet Speciality Products,

a hydrocarbon product refiner

and processor, has finalised

the previously-announced

acquisition of NuStar Energy’s

San Antonio, Texas-based

refinery, the Elmendorf

terminal, and crude oil pipeline

connecting the two facilities.

Calumet acquired the assets

for $115 million (€87 million): $100

million purchase price and $15

million closing date inventory.

The San Antonio refinery,

with a 14,500 bpd throughput

capacity, handles various

products including jet fuel,

ultra-low sulphur diesel,

naphtha, reformates, LPG,

speciality solvents and

other specialised fuels.

The Elmendorf terminal

is approximately 12 miles

away from the refinery

and stores the processed

crude oil at the refinery.

After signing the purchase

agreement, NuStar said in a

statement that its decision

to sell the facility is part of

its strategic redirection to

focus more on its pipeline

and storage operations.

‘This transaction will give

the refinery employees the

opportunity to be a part of a

refining company with multiple

refineries, that also has the

depth of refining resources

and expertise to provide the

support the refinery needs to

succeed over the long-term,’

NuStar president and CEO Curt

Anastasio said at the time.

NuStar purchased the

refinery and terminal out of

bankruptcy in April 2011 for

$41 million, and the company

has invested approximately

$54 million since then on

improvements. For example,

it built and put into service

a 12-mile pipeline between

the terminal and the

refinery that now moves the

crude to the refinery.

Holly Energy Partners has selected URS to carry out

initial engineering, routing and cost estimates on

two new pipelines the company hopes to develop.

The first proposed pipeline will transport

crude oil from Cushing, Oklahoma to a refinery

in Tulsa, owned by independent oil refining

company HollyFrontier’s subsidiary Holly

Refining and Marketing – Tulsa (HRM Tulsa).

This 20” pipeline would stretch 50 miles,

carrying local and Canadian crude oil to

HRM Tulsa’s 125,000 bpd facility. Crude

oil processed at the refinery is currently

transported on pipelines owned by Sunoco

Logistics and Magellan Pipeline Company.

The second proposed pipeline by Holly

Energy Partners is a 100-mile, 8” interstate

petroleum products pipeline between Denver,

Colorado and the 52,000 bpd Frontier Refining-

owned Cheyenne, Wyoming refinery. Frontier

Refining is another subsidiary of HollyFrontier.

Petroleum products produced at

Frontier Refining’s Wyoming-based refinery

are currently transported to Denver on

the Rocky Mountain Pipeline’s products

line owned by Plains All-American.

CLH will invest €41 million on storage terminal improvements this year

4 January/February2013•TANK STORAGE

terminal news

TANK STORAGE •January/February2013 5

Crude oil throughput grows at Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam has reported

a 1.7% increase in freight throughput,

with a total 442 million tonnes of cargo

passing through the port in 2012.

Speaking about liquid bulk throughput

Hans Smits, president and CEO of the Port

of Rotterdam Authority, says: ‘More crude

oil and oil products in particular were

handled. The latter category has actually

tripled in size over the past 10 years.

That shows that the port is increasingly

becoming a hub for global trade. This

helps it to continue to grow, as global

trade generally develops faster than the

Dutch and the European economies.’

The port enjoyed a 6% increase in

crude oil during 2012. The handling of

mineral oil products was up by 12%.

The port authority attributed this to

increased oil product trade, mainly

due to price differences of fuel oil

in Europe and Asia. For example,

shipping Russian fuel oil via the Port of

Rotterdam to the Far East is beneficial.

The throughput of naptha, gasoil, diesel,

kerosene and petrol also grew last year.

LNG imports, on the other hand,

were low as it was transported

mainly to the Far East rather than

Europe due to high prices in Asia.

In a statement, the authority said the

handling of other liquid bulk products

rose by 4% due to the start-up of Neste

Oil’s palm oil imports and rising biodiesel

imports. A total 214 million tonnes of

liquid bulk was handled in 2012.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority

expects growth of around 2% this year,

with 2013’s throughput levels expected

to reach around 450 million tonnes.

Crude oil handling increased last year at the Port of Rotterdam

Gibson Energy to spend $137m on terminal and pipelines sectorCanadian independent midstream

energy company Gibson Energy

will invest $304 million (€234

million) in 2013 after its capital

spending plans were approved

by its board of directors.

Under the plan, Gibson will

spend 77% of the total $304 million

on growth investments, $137 million

of which is earmarked for the

terminal and pipelines segment.

Investments are also planned

for the truck transportation and

environmental services segments.

‘Planned spending is heavily

weighted towards our terminals and

pipeline segment, which should

enable our integrated oil-levered

assets to provide diversified cash

flow and stability through various

commodity and drilling cycles,’

explains Gibson Energy’s president

and CEO Stewart Hanlon.

Throughout 2013, Gibson’s

funds will go towards continuing

to expand the Hardisty Terminal

by adding large storage tanks

backstopped by long-term contracts

and unit train rail opportunities, and

growing the Edmonton Terminal by

increasing pipeline connectivity.

The company also wants to

increase its presence in the North

American oil plays such as the

Western Canadian Sedimentary

Basin, Bakken, Niobrara, Granite

Wash, Eagleford, Tuscaloose Marine

and the Gulf of Mexico regions

through expanding its terminal

and pipelines business in the US.

Gibson will spend approximately

$69 million on upgrades and

replacements this year. That is higher

than previous years due to the

growth in assets across the company

and resultant EBITDA growth.

Gibson believes its 2014 spending

capital will exceed $200 million

with 60-65% of this allocated to the

terminals and pipelines segment.

MIC companies recover from Hurricane Sandy

Macquarie Infrastructure (MIC) has reported

that its operating companies International-

Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT) and Atlantic

Aviation have largely recovered from the

effects of Hurricane Sandy in the US.

IMTT’s bulk liquid storage facility at

Bayonne, New Jersey was affected during

the storm but the company says the facility

is now substantially receiving and delivering

all products by all modes of transport.

Permanent power has been restored

to most of the facility and those parts still

without have backup systems in place.

Atlantic Aviation’s fixed base operations at

airports in Teterboro, New Jersey; Farmingdale,

Long Island; and Bridgeport, Connecticut, as well

as its heliport in New York City were damaged or

disrupted by the hurricane. Each facility has been

restored and normal operations have resumed.

MIC expects its financial results for the fourth

quarter to reflect approximately $2.3 million (€1.7

million) in payments of insurance deductibles and

less than $5 million in total impact from the storm.

Longwei Petroleum upgrades storage at Gujiao facility China-based energy company Longwei

Petroleum Investment has completed

upgrades and scheduled maintenance works

at its storage facility in Gujiao, Shanxi Province.

The upgrades included new coatings

for its large storage tanks. The facility

has a storage capacity of 70,000

tonnes of petroleum products.

Longwei Petroleum’s Gujiao plant has been

in service since November 2009. The company

currently has three facilities in Shanxi Province.

The company’s Huajie facility is the most

recent and came online in October last year.

Fifty-five oil projects to come online by Q1 this year Fifty-five Mehr Mandegar oil projects worth

$21.5 billion (€16 billion) are planned to

come online in Iran by the end of March.

Thirty-two of the 55 projects are oil and

13 petrochemical. A further eight are gas

and two are oil refining projects. Two of

the 13 petrochemical projects – Kavian

Petrochemical Plant and West Ethylene

Pipeline – worth $2 billion began operations

in December. The remaining projects are

scheduled to come online gradually.

Mohesen Khojastehmehr, the deputy

oil minister for planning and supervision on

hydrocarbon resources and secretary of

Mehr Mandegar Projects HQ at the Petroleum

Ministry, was reported to have said: ‘The

Kermanshah petrochemical plant plus eight

projects in Imam Kohmeini Port, south of Iran,

including an NF3 project are ready for start-up.’

Government to reacquire oil tank farm from IOC Sri Lanka’s United National Party government

is to reacquire the Trincomalee oil storage

tank farm in China Bay that it currently

leases to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

The tank farm is based on 850 acres

of land and consists of 99 storage tanks,

each with a capacity of 12,100 tonnes. It

connects to the Trincomalee harbour and

is the largest tank farm located between

the Middle East and Singapore.

It was reported that IOC has violated

a number of government standards and

a cabinet paper is soon to be issued for

the reacquisition of the tank farm.

news in brief...Westway sells foreign terminals to ED&F Man Holdings

TransMontaigne to participate in BOSTCO project

Plains All American invests $125m in Eagle Ford assets

An affiliate of private equity investor

EQT Infrastructure II will acquire all

of the outstanding equity securities

of bulk liquid storage and liquid

animal feed supplement provider

Westway Group after the group

entered into a definitive agreement.

EQT will invest approximately

$419 million (€318.4 million) in

aggregate cash consideration, or

$6.70 in cash per common share

(the merger agreement).

Westway has also entered into a

definitive agreement to sell a number of

its bulk liquid storage terminals located

in Ireland, Denmark, Korea and the UK

to an affiliate of ED&F Man Holdings,

its largest stockholder, for a purchase

price of around $115 million, in addition

to its liquid feed supplement business

called Westway Feed Products.

‘EQT Infrastructure II has a strong

track record in the bulk liquid storage

sector and will be an excellent

partner for our terminal employees

and customers,’ says Francis Jenkins

Jr., chairman of Westway and

chairman of the special committee.

Glen Matsumoto, partner at EQT

Partners in the US, investment advisor

to the EQT Infrastructure II, adds:

‘Demand for storage services continues

to grow as the global supply chain

for a number of industries becomes

increasingly complex. We believe that

Westway’s ability to provide reliable

storage services to existing customers

while expanding storage services

to other growing markets will help

foster its next stage development.’

Under the terms of the merger

agreement, Westway’s stockholders

will receive $6.70 in cash for each

outstanding share of Westway

Class A Common Stock or Class

B Common Stock they own.

The transaction is expected

to close later this quarter.

Petroleum fuels distributor

TransMontaigne Partners has received

approval from Morgan Stanley to

acquire a 48.75% ownership interest in

the Battleground Oil Specialty Terminal

Company (BOSTCO) terminal project.

The BOSTCO project involves

building a new black oil terminal

facility on the Houston Ship Channel

– part of the Port of Houston in

Texas, US – for an estimated $415

million (€317 million). The initial phase

involves the construction of 50 storage

tanks totalling 6.1 million barrels

capacity for residual fuel, feedstocks,

distillates and other black oils.

The terminal will also feature one

of the deepest vessel drafts in the

Houston Ship Channel. Its development

comes at a time when the trend

of exporting petroleum products

overseas continues to grow.

The transaction is expected to

be finalised before February, subject

to agreements and approval from

TransMontaigne’s board of directors.

Plains All American Pipeline

(PAAP) has acquired crude oil and

condensate gathering assets from

a Chesapeake Energy subsidiary.

The assets are located in the

Eagle Ford area of south Texas and

cost PAAP approximately $125

million (€95.5 million), including:

• 300,000 barrels of storage

capacity under construction

• 40 miles of crude oil/

condensate gathering pipelines

with a throughput capacity

of around 50,000 bpd

• 150,000 barrels of existing crude oil

and condensate storage capacity

• Truck unloading terminal.

‘The acquired assets are

complementary to and will be

connected with our existing crude oil

and condensate gathering systems,’

PAAP said in a statement.


terminal news

terminal news


xx January/February2013•TANK STORAGE

terminal news

featured topics in the next edition of Tank Storage magazine8 Tank gauging8 Tank cleaning and petroleum reclamation8 Fire safety8 EPCM8 Blending, injection technologies, dosing 8 equipment and additives8 Tank cutting, maintenance and repair8 StocExpo preview

To get advertising prices or to request a copy of the media pack for 2013 please contact: DavidKellyon+44(0)2035515754 or [email protected]

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Tank Storage magazine is the official media partner to StocExpo. We are the ONLY publication distributed in every delegate bag and distributed to all visitors at the showREGIONAL FOCUS: TANK STORAGE IN ASIA

Oiltanking keeps on growing

Breaking ground in the literal sense

DECEMBER 2012

The company’s senior management talks us through the latest acquisition of Helios terminal in Singapore

With the Jurong Rock Cavern operatorship still scheduled to begin next year, JTC discusses the project so far


Volume No. 8 Issue No. 5

FC_TSM_Dec_12.indd 1 27/11/2012 17:36

No waffle in

Bonus distribution8 StocExpo, Antwerp - exclusive delegate bag

distribution

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8 IIR Bulk Liquid Storage Conference, South Africa

OfficialStocExpo Exhibition

Catalogue

terminal news

Spectra Energy to purchase 100% of Express-Platte pipeline Pipeline transportation and energy

storage company Kinder Morgan

Energy Partners is to sell its 33% stake

in the Express-Platte pipeline.

Natural gas infrastructure firm

Spectra Energy is acquiring 100% of

Express-Platte for $1.49 billion (€1.14

billion) and this means Kinder Morgan’s

Canada-based JV partners, Ontario

Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and

Borealis Infrastructure, will also sell

their interests in the pipeline system.

Express-Platte is a 1,700 mile oil

pipeline system connecting Canadian

and US producers to refineries in

the Rocky Mountain and Midwest

regions of the US. The 280,000 bpd

pipeline, which is made up of both

the Express and Platte crude oil

pipelines, begins in Hardisty, Alberta

and terminates in Wood River, Illinois.

The sale is expected to close

later this year subject to customary

consents and regulatory approvals.

Kinder Morganx’s chairman and

CEO Richard Kinder says the deal

is a ‘win-win transaction for both

KMP and Spectra Energy’, adding:

‘Spectra Energy is purchasing a good

pipeline system. In exchange KMP

will receive a very attractive price.

‘Based on the structure of KMP’s

investment with our Express-Platte

partners, KMP receives approximately $15

million of cash flow on an annual basis

from this investment, which is primarily

debenture interest. We will redeploy the

proceeds from this sale into various growth

projects to further benefit our unit holders.’

Greg Ebel, president and CEO of

Spectra Energy, comments: ‘This system is

strategically located to supply crude oil to

the US refining markets. It also represents

an incremental growth platform for us

that enables further investment in related

crude and refined product assets.’

Enbridge Income Fund acquires crude oil storage assetsPublicly traded corporation Enbridge

Income Fund Holdings and Enbridge

Income Fund have bought crude

oil storage and renewable energy

assets after closing the acquisition of

entities which own these assets from

Enbridge and some of its indirect

wholly owned subsidiaries.

The acquisition, closed by indirect

wholly owned subsidiaries of the Fund,

cost $1.164 billion (€895 million).

‘We are pleased to add these assets

to the Fund’s low-risk energy infrastructure

portfolio,’ says John Whelen, president

of Enbridge Income Fund Holdings.

‘They are all underpinned by long-term

fixed price contracts which generate

steady cash flow and will serve to further

diversify the Fund’s overall business mix.

‘Going forward, we expect that

crude oil transportation and storage will

generate roughly 40% of distributable

cash flow, while green power and gas

transmission will contribute approximately

40% and 20% respectively,’ he continues,

adding the ‘acquisition will substantially

scale up our crude oil transportation and

storage business in Western Canada’.

Ineos signs LOI to build new ethane storage tank Chemical company Ineos and

project contractor TGE Gas

Engineering have signed a

letter of intent to build a new

ethane storage tank at Ineos’

Rafnes terminal in Norway.

The deal also includes

expanding existing infrastructure at

Rafnes, due for completion in 2015.

The additional tank and

new infrastructure follow Ineos’

recent completion of supply and

infrastructure agreements that

allow it to access ethane feedstock

from the US which it will use in

its European cracker facilities.

Ineos says the additional

ethane will supplement existing

supplies and create options to

replace liquid petroleum gas

(LPG) which is more expensive.

The companies are due to

break ground on the project in

February or March (subject to

signature of the final contractual

agreements), with construction

slated to last two years. The

tank will be able to store initial

loads of ethane from Q2 2015.

Under a 15-year agreement,

Range Resources Appalachia will

lift the ethane from the Marcus

Hook Industrial Complex in

Philadelphia from 2015 onwards.

‘This is good news for Rafnes

and for the petrochemical industry

in Grenland. The investment is a

real vote of confidence in the

Rafnes site by Ineos that helps

secure our long-term future and

profitability of the site,’ Magnar

Bakke, site manager at Ineos

Olefins and Polymers Norway, says.

He adds: ‘The building of the

tank will provide construction jobs

over the next two years, but it

helps to secure jobs here for much

longer. The investment in a new

storage tank and infrastructure

gives the site important long-

term options, in addition to our

current supply arrangements,

to access raw materials from

around the world.’

Express-Platte will connect producers to refineries in the Rocky Mountain region


terminal news


Jathavedan NampoothiriSenior Vice President (Terminalling)IOT Infrastructure & Energy Services Limited

We Can, We CareAs part of the Business Development team at IOT Infrastruc-

ture & Energy Services Ltd. (IOT), Jathavedan Nampoothiri

actively pursues opportunities to develop new terminals on

the Indian subcontinent every day. IOT has been and will

remain important for the Petroleum and Petrochemicals

sectors in India and abroad, by providing both independent

terminalling services and customised flexible business models

for design and engineering, construction and the operation

of terminals. Jathavedan Nampoothiri is always enthusiastic

about his work because he cares about making a difference.

Your reliable storage partner for liquid bulk.

Admiralitaetstrasse 55 | D-20459 Hamburg Germany Tel. +49-40-370990 0 | Fax +49-40-37099 499 | www.oiltanking.com

terminal news


Green Plains subsidiary opens new terminal

Ethanol producer Green Plains

Renewable Energy’s wholly

owned subsidiary BlendStar has

commenced operations at its

newly built 96-car train terminal

in Birmingham, Alabama.

The new terminal is served

by the BNSF Railway and has an

annual throughput capacity of

300 million gallons of ethanol.

‘The Birmingham terminal will

provide more efficient distribution

of ethanol to underserved markets

in the south eastern US,’ says Todd

Becker, president and CEO of

Green Plains. ‘We have unloaded

the first unit train of ethanol and

expect the terminal to be at full

capacity in January 2013.’

The Birmingham terminal

currently has storage for 160,000

barrels and a four-lane covered

truck rack but both of these have

the potential to be expanded.

Vopak EMEA enters negotiations for Vassilikos storage terminal The government of Cyprus

is establishing a petroleum

storage and delivery terminal

in the island’s southern

location of Vassilikos and

has selected Vopak Oil

EMEA (Europe, Middle

East and Africa) Division

as a strategic partner and

investor for the project.

Vopak Oil EMEA has

already been awarded

the tender for the terminal,

which has been under

development since 2004. A

basic plan for the project

was completed in 2006.

Talks between the

two parties started on 12

December. When negotiations

have finished, the issue

will be taken back to the

Council of Minister for a final

decision. It is not known how

long it will be until a final

decision is made, however

government spokesman

Stefanos Stefanou reportedly

said it was important for

the ‘issue to proceed as

quickly as possible’.

‘After evaluating the

results of the tenders’ requests

[Vopak] was selected as a

strategic partner for the fuel

terminal and storage facility

in Vassilikos. We are now in the

final stretch of the creation

of a petroleum delivery and

storage terminal,’ Stefanou

was quoted as adding.

The project is believed to

be of great economic benefit

to Cyprus when it becomes

operational. In addition, it

will resolve the problem of

limited storage capacity

for petroleum products.

Private company VTT is

also building a fuel terminal

at Vassilikos, expected to

be completed in 2014.

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Plains All American withdraws from $500m tanker terminal Houston, US-based Plains All American Pipeline

(PAAP) has pulled out of building an oil tanker

terminal at the Port of Los Angeles.

Following project approval in 2008, the

company was to construct a $500 million

(€387 million) berth for oil tanker terminals and

a new pipeline which would transport the

incoming oil to nearby storage terminals.

However, PAAP has withdrawn its plans, saying

a number of reasons affected development at

the port, including on-going delays, the economic

financial crisis and a significant shift towards domestic

oil production. The port was notified about the

company’s change of plan in November last year.

Fifty per cent of the $3 million environmental

impact report was paid by Plains All American and

the other half came from the Port of Los Angeles,

which will not be repaid for this. The port says it hopes

to fill the now redundant site as soon as possible.

The project was a concern within the

local community as it was feared a new

tanker terminal would create increased

levels of pollution in the area.


terminal news

Plains All American Pipeline closes acquisition of crude rail terminals Plains All American Pipeline has closed the previously announced

$500 million (€382 million) acquisition of loading and unloading

assets and various contractual arrangements from US

Development Group.

The assets include four operational crude oil rail terminals:

three crude oil rail loading terminals located in Eagle Ford, Bakken

and Niobrara; and a 140,000 bpd rail unloading terminal at St

James, Louisiana.

Inergy Midstream completes COLT Hub acquisition Inergy Midstream, a Kansas, Missouri-headquartered energy

storage and transportation company, has completed the

acquisition of Rangeland Energy for $425 million (€326 million).

Rangeland owns and operates the COLT Hub – a system

made up of a crude oil rail terminal, storage capacity and

related infrastructure. The hub serves oil refiners, marketers and

producers, and has contracted aggregate volume commitments

of approximately 150,000 barrels of crude per day.

By acquiring the COLT Hub, Inergy Midstream has expanded its

shale-focused infrastructure portfolio.

Inergy Midstream has also finalised the long-term debt and

equity financing related to the COLT acquisition.

Klaipèdos Nafta signs construction agreement for terminal upgrade Lithuanian oil terminal Klaipèdos Nafta is reconstructing its Dark

Fuel Facilities Park.

Having signed an LTL21 million (€6 million) agreement

with construction company UAB Rudesta, this is one of the

largest investments by Klaipèdos Nafta for the renovation of its

infrastructure scheduled for this year.

The reconstruction involves pulling down four 5,000m3 storage

tanks and building two new ones, each with a 32,250m3 capacity.

When the project is completed within 12 months, Klaipèdos

Nafta will be able to handle both light and dark oil products.

Iran continues to ramp up oil storage capacity Iran now has the world’s largest floating oil terminal, in the Persian

Gulf near Bahregan field, Bushehr province.

The terminal alone can handle exports of 2.2 million barrels of

oil, and Iran is also building new crude oil storage facilities in the

Persian Gulf to increase its onshore storage capacity by 8.1 million

barrels, planned for March.

The country is also said to be constructing a new oil storage

terminal close to the Strait of Hormuz and, in May, Pirouz Moussavi

of Iranian Oil Terminals Company announced that Iran is planning

the development of a new export terminal at Bandar Jask on

Iran’s Sea of Oman coast, which would be connected to Neka

port via a 1 million barrel a day pipeline.

The terminal, expected to cost around $2.2 billion (€1.7 billion) to

build, will have a storage capacity of 20 million barrels.

news in brief...

Canexus NATO expansion approvedCalgary-based chemical manufacturing and

handling company Canexus will go ahead with

the $125 million (€95.5 million) expansion of its

Bruderheim, Alberta-based North American Terminal

Operations (NATO) following approval from its board

of directors. The expansion involves developing

pipeline-connected unit train operations.

The company has also reached an agreement

with Canadian oil sands company Meg Energy

to connect the Bruderheim terminal to pipelines

which interconnect with Meg’s Stonefell Terminal.

Canexus will provide Meg with terminalling

services, under the agreement, for the loading

of bitumen blends for transport by rail and

the receiving of diluent shipments by rail.

In addition to connecting the terminal to Meg’s

pipelines, this next phase of the NATO expansion

could see Canexus connect the Bruderheim terminal

to a second pipeline-connected facility close by.

It also plans to build out the rail infrastructure,

loading/offloading and aboveground tank

storage required to allow for a unit train

movement of up to 118 tank cars (approximately

70,000 barrels) in single trains daily.

The expanded capabilities are slated to be

operational in the second half of this year.

‘We are pleased to announce full project

approval of the expansion of our Bruderheim

terminal capabilities that will include pipeline-

connected unit train operations for large scale

movements of bitumen blends and diluent by

rail,’ says Gary Kubera, president and CEO.

‘An agreement has been reached with Meg

Energy to connect Bruderheim with the Stonefell

Terminal. Significant progress on a potential second

pipeline/terminal connection to Bruderheim has also

been made and negotiations are proceeding with

additional customers for unit train shipments from

Bruderheim under multi-year, take-or-pay terms.’

Canexus will connect NATO to Meg Energy’s Stonefell Terminal via pipelines

terminal news


Pan European Terminals refinances loan note

Pan European Terminals has

completed a re-financing

of its $11 million (€8.5 million)

secured fixed-rate loan (the

2011 note) which was raised

to fund the acquisition of Dan

Balt Tank Lager Terminal in

Denmark last November.

The US dollar-denominated

2011 note will be repaid

from the proceeds of an

£8.5 million (€10.5 million)

secured convertible fixed-rate

loan note which has been

issued by Dan Balt Terminals,

a 100% subsidiary of the

Pan European Terminals.

The loan note matures on

19 November 2015, carries

interest at 10% a year and has

been admitted to the Official

List of the Channel Islands

Stock Exchange (CISX). At the

same time the 2011 note has

been delisted from the CISX.

The 2011 note carried

interest of 15% with an early

redemption premium if

paid out before May next

year. However the early

redemption fee has been

waived on the 2011 note and

no payment has been made.

The loan note may also

be converted into ordinary

shares of 1 pence each in

the capital of the company

(ordinary shares) at a price

of 22p per ordinary share

(conversion), a premium of

25.7% to the closing price

of 17.5p on 19 November

2012 and 30.6% to the three-

month average closing price

prior to the same date.

Conversion would result in

the issue of 38,636,363 ordinary

shares representing 27.7% of

the Pan European Terminals’

current issued share capital

as enlarged by conversion.

Conversion is subject to

the company’s shareholders

approving the relevant

authorities to issue the new

ordinary shares arising upon

conversion and Pan European

Terminals is liable to a penalty

payment of £550,000 if such

authorities are not approved

by 19 November 2013.

It can redeem the loan

note at any time after 19

November 2013 on 60 days’

notice without penalty.

The balance of funds, after

repayment of the 2011 note,

will be used for transaction

costs and general working

capital purposes.

Current trading remains

in line with the board of the

company’s expectations

and progress is being made

to utilise all the capacity of

the company’s terminals in

2013. In addition, the board is

continuing to review strategic

options for its Russian assets.

Pan European Terminals

intends to issue a fuller trading

update in due course.

Simon Escott, CEO says:

‘I am pleased to have

strengthened the company’s

cash position and to have

refinanced the loan well

before its maturity date

at a much reduced cost.

This is especially pleasing

in an extremely difficult

financial market.’

Sonatrach plans to meet Algeria’s refined demandsAlgeria’s storage capacity for petroleum

products is to grow following an announcement

from Sonatrach, the company’s state-owned

oil and gas company, that it plans to invest

DZD198 billion (€1.9 billion) in the sector.

Sonatrach’s CEO Abdelhamid Zerguine said the

investment will help meet the increasing demand

for refined petroleum products such as fuels.

He added that the planned capital

would raise the country’s refined products

storage capacity from seven to 30 days.

Zerguine described the investment plan as a

‘redeployment of our storage strategy that will

strengthen and modernise the business to meet

the growing demand for refined products’.

The state-owned oil company is investing in storage

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terminal news

Hydrocarbon storage facility gathers pace in Far EastSingapore-based industrial infrastructure

company JTC has launched the second

of its two-stage request for proposal

to engage an operator to manage,

operate and maintain the first phase

of the Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC).

The JRC will be Singapore’s first

underground hydrocarbon storage

facility located at Jurong Island. The first

phase will comprise of five caverns to be

completed between 2013 and 2014.

Four operators have been shortlisted

under the terms of the first stage of the

proposal request and they have been

invited to submit second stage proposals

for evaluation by JTC. The second stage

will also include a pre-qualification stage

for new interested participants however.

‘JRC will cater to the growing need

for additional storage capacity for liquid

hydrocarbons at Jurong Island. The

project will help to optimise our land

resource and ensure the competitiveness

and sustainability of Singapore’s chemical

industry in the long run,’ says JTC assistant

CEO David Tan. ‘We’re confident that

through this rigorous two-stage RFP we will

be able to bring on board a suitable and

qualified operator for JRC by next year.’

JTC is developing an underground hydrocarbon storage facility on Jurong Island

terminal news


Odfjell to expand JV with Lindsay Goldberg Odfjell has signed a letter of intent to

expand its existing joint venture with private

equity company Lindsay Goldberg.

Under the transaction, Lindsay Goldberg will

acquire a 49% stake in Odfjell Terminals (OT),

the holding company for Odfjell’s tank terminals

business. All remaining tank terminal activities

outside of the OT holding company will also

be included in the transaction apart from two

minority investments. It is further intended for the

assets in the existing JV is be fully owned by OT.

In exchange for its 49% share, Lindsay

Goldberg will contribute its 49% of the existing

JV as well as $226 million (€170 million) to OT.

Odfjell is currently developing a new tank

terminal facility in Charleston, South Carolina and

is expanding its existing facility in Houston, Texas. It

was also selected to evaluate the development

of a new bulk liquids terminal facility in La Havre,

France and is exploring opportunities in China,

India, Middle East, Africa and South America.

Odfjell president and CEO Jan Hammer says:

‘The proposed transaction follows the success of

our existing joint venture with Lindsay Goldberg,

who has proven itself as a long-term orientated

partner with a strong dedication to developing

and creating value for our business. Our greenfield

projects in China are significant and we are

confident that together with Lindsay Goldberg we

can accelerate the development of these projects.’

The proposed transaction is subject to

confirmatory due diligence, negotiation

and execution of definitive documentation

and customary closing conditions.

Odfjell and Lindsay Goldberg signed an LoI

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terminal news


versatile.Always a leading innovator, ROSEN not only supplies pipeline customers

with the latest diagnostic and system integrity technologies but also offersflexible solutions and all-round support for plants & terminals.

www.roseninspection.net

EMPOWERED BY TECHNOLOGY

NuStar and ConocoPhillips sign long-term agreement Independent liquids terminal

and pipeline operator NuStar

Energy has formed a long-

term pipeline and terminal

services agreement with

ConocoPhillips to expand

its crude oil pipeline system

in southern Texas, US.

The expansion, expected

to cost $100-120 million

(€76-92 million), includes

building a new pipeline and

a 100,000 barrel terminal

near Pawnee, Texas. The

pipeline will originate from

the Pawnee terminal and

connect to NuStar’s existing

12” pipeline system between

Pettus and Three Rivers.

This existing pipeline

will then be linked to

the company’s recently

completed terminal in Oakville

for crude delivery to the

NuStar North Beach Terminal.

From here the crude will be

transported to the city of

Corpus Christi via existing and

new pipeline connections

that will be established at

refineries within the area.

NuStar will also provide

truck receiving facilities at

the new Pawnee terminal

and its facility in Oakville. In

addition, NuStar has broken

ground on a new ship dock in

Corpus Christi that will support

the North Beach Terminal

under a long-term lease with

the Port of Corpus Christi.

The pipeline expansion

project will be completed by

the end of 2013 and the new

dock facilities are expected

to come online early in 2014.

The agreement will allow

NuStar to serve ConocoPhillips’

growing production in the

Eagle Ford Shale play. The

new pipeline and terminal

facilities will provide Eagle Ford

producers with a cost-effective

transportation alternative for

their growing production.

‘We are excited to

announce another major,

accretive expansion in the

Eagle Ford region so soon

after the acquisition of

TexStar’s crude pipeline assets

in the Eagle Ford region as

it further expands the area

our pipeline system can

serve,’ says Curt Anastasio,

president and CEO of NuStar.

‘We are fortunate to

have extensive pipeline and

terminal assets already in

operation throughout the

region with the capacity to

easily support an expansion

of this size and help support

the incredible production

growth taking place in the

Eagle Ford Shale play.’

The investment is backed

by a 10-year throughput

commitment and, according

to Anastasio, the projects

are expected to generate

approximately $15 million in

incremental, annual EBITDA

once fully implemented.

The agreement will see NuStar serve ConocoPhillips’ production in the Eagle Ford Shale play

Gulf Petrochem builds new Indian oil terminalOil company Gulf Petrochem

Group has broken ground

on its 90,500m2 Pipavav Oil

Terminal in Gujarat, India.

The new state-of-the-

art terminal will be able to

handle and store bulk liquid

cargoes, and its proximity to

major transportation networks

means it will have easy

access to India’s northwest

and central markets.

‘Gulf Petrochem’s Pipavav

Oil Terminal is strategically

located in southern Gujarat,

giving us a logistical

advantage and strongly

positioning the company to

take advantage of India’s

abundant northwest markets,’

Sanjeev Sisaudia, Gulf

Petrochem’s group CEO, says.

‘This project will

accelerate our expansion

drive in key Asian markets.

We will continue to invest

in major projects that will

enhance our ability to

provide reliable, tailor-made

solutions at competitive

prices, which will ultimately

benefit our clients.’

Port of Sohar develops new liquid jetty The Port of Sohar in Muscat,

Oman is to build a new

liquid jetty to accommodate

increased liquid imports.

The jetty is designed

to handle tankers of up

to 120 dwt. It is predicted

that the majority of this

increased bulk liquid volume

will come from Oiltanking-

Odjfell Terminals’ central

tank terminal, which has

expanded significantly

since its opening in 2008.

The joint venture’s

storage terminal can

handle just under 1.3

million m3. It was launched

with 842,000m3 of storage

capacity and expanded

by an additional 425,000m3.

The new terminal grew by a

further 27,300m3 in July 2012.

The project is currently

in the design phase and

this is expected to be

finalised in the second half

of 2013, when tendering

for the construction will

start. The new jetty will be

brought into operation

in early 2015.

terminal news


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with the latest diagnostic and system integrity technologies but also offersflexible solutions and all-round support for plants & terminals.

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terminal news

Magellan and Occidental Petroleum proceed with BridgeTex Pipeline Magellan Midstream Partners

and Occidental Petroleum are

continuing with the development

of the previously announced

BridgeTex Pipeline in the US.

With access to refineries at the

Houston Ship Channel, Texas City and

others across the Gulf Coast via third

party pipelines, the BridgeTex Pipeline

will move up to 300,000 bpd of Permian

Basin crude oil from Colorado City,

Texas to the Houston Gulf Coast area.

The project includes the

construction of 1.2 million barrels of

crude oil storage at Colorado City

and 1.4 million barrels at east Houston.

Around 400 miles of 20” pipeline

will be built, going from Colorado

City to Magallen’s terminal in east

Houston, in addition to a further

50 miles of 24” pipeline between

east Houston and Texas City.

The BridgeTex pipeline is expected

to come online by mid-2014.

The pipeline project is supported by

long-term transportable commitments

and has received a favourable

order from the Federal Agency

Regulatory Commission approving

the tariff structure for the pipeline.

The BridgeTex Pipeline will transport crude oil from Texas to the Houston Gulf Coast area

REG expands terminal locationsRenewable Energy Group (REG), a producer and marketer of biodiesel, has established new biodiesel blending locations at four New York terminal sites.

‘Gaining access to the largest biodiesel terminal network in New York is part of our strategy to expand into the Northeast market as a reliable biodiesel supplier,’ REG president and CEO Daniel Oh says.

These biodiesel distribution points are in New Jersey’s Whippany, and New Hyde Park, Port Chester and Brookhaven in New York and will offer quick access for blending biodiesel to enhance heating oil and diesel supplies.

‘REG has biodiesel onsite in New Hyde Park to allow area distributors and heating oil retailers to increase supply as the New York City biodiesel blend B2 requirement goes back into effect,’ Gary Haer, VP of sales and marketing for REG, adds.

This B2 requirement was scheduled to come into effect on 1 October, however was delayed until 1 December as a result of tight fuel supply issues following Hurricane Sandy.

REGmarketsitsREG-9000biodiesel and currently producers over225milliongallonsayear.In addition to its new terminal locations in New York and New Jersey, the company also operates from terminal locations in California, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas and Ohio.


Ceylon and Lanka Indian Oil form pipeline partnership Sri Lankan state owned petroleum

distributor Ceylon Petroleum Storage

Terminals and private oil company Lanka

Indian Oil, will together develop a new

pipeline after forming a joint venture.

The pipeline, 14.5km long and 18”

in diameter, will transport oil from the

Colombo Harbor to the Kolonnawa

storage terminal faster than the

existing transportation infrastructure,

in turn saving an estimated $8

million (€6.2 million) a year.

Tanker unloading is expected to take

two days when the new pipeline comes

into operation, replacing the current

system whereby a ship takes around four

to five days to unload fuel due to the

thinner diameter of the pump. The existing

pipelines are also said to leak frequently.

Ceylon has called for international

bids for the pipeline and is already in the

process of awarding a bidder with a $45

million contract on a PAT basis. Lanka

Indian Oil owns a 33% stake in the project.

Construction on the new pipeline

will begin later this year. The project is

expected to take around 12 months.

terminal news

Saudi Aramco moves forward with Jizan terminal and refinery Energy company Saudi Aramco is

continuing to develop its $6 billion (€4.7

billion) Jizan oil terminal and refinery

in Saudi Arabia, and has awarded

EPC contracts to eight companies.

The project is slated to come online

at the end of 2016, when it will be able

to handle 400,000 barrels of oil per day.

A marine terminal will allow the refinery

to receive and export crude oil.

Local company Ali Al-Ajmi Group will

clear and prepare the site ready for the

construction phase. Contracts have also

been signed with Hanwha Engineering

& Construction, JGC, Hyundai Saudi

Arabia, SK Engineering & Construction,

Petrofac Saudi Arabia, Hitachi Plant

Technologies and Tecnicas Reunidas.

More than 1,000 direct jobs and

around 4,000 indirect jobs will be created

by the terminal and refinery project.

Abdullatif HE Abdullatif A. Al-

Othman, governor and chairman of

the Saudi Arabian General Investment

Authority’s board of directors, says the

project is key to the development of the

Jizan Economic City (JEC) project.

‘Work is underway to develop the

required plans to accelerate the JEC’s

infrastructure construction works in

order to attract industrial and service

investments, provide appropriate job

opportunities for the area’s people and

form the nucleus of diversified economic

activities,’ he was reported to have said.


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terminal news

Greenergy North Tees starts fuel supply Greenergy, the UK’s leading

supplier of petrol and diesel,

has commenced diesel, gasoil

and kerosene supply from

its terminal at Teesside, now

known as Greenergy North Tees.

The North Tees facility

was already closed when it

was acquired by Greenergy

in July 2012, having ceased

commercial operation earlier

in the year following the

administration of Petroplus

Refining Teesside. Since

taking over at the terminal

Greenergy has undertaken a

condition survey and made

certain improvements prior

to commencing supply.

The company now intends

to make further significant

investments at the site in order

to create an integrated supply

system for petrol and diesel in

the North East and a new hub

for its rail distribution network.

Andrew Owens,

Greenergy CEO, comments:

‘Our North Tees terminal will

complement our existing

petrol manufacturing facilities

on Teesside, by adding the

infrastructure for a new rail

head, our own jetty capable

of receiving large diesel ships

and product interchange

between terminal locations.’

There are more than 20

tanks at the site and the

company has not ruled out

construction of additional

tankage in the future.

Planned improvements

at North Tees over the

next 18 months include:

• Jetty modifications

including conversion to

allow a more commercial

based multi-product import

and export into the terminal

• A new pipeline to link

Greenergy North Tees

to other terminals in the

Teesside area. The plan is

for the pipeline to carry

petrol and diesel.

• Additional road

loading facilities for

petrol and diesel.

• Refurbishment to tankage

and road loading facilities;

• Enhancements to IT.

The project at North Tees

follows investments by

Greenergy in storage and

distribution facilities at

amongst others Thames Oilport

(2012, joint venture between

Vopak, Greenergy and

Shell), Cardiff (2010), Teesside

(2009), Plymouth (2008) and

West Thurrock (2008).

Greenergy continues

to supply petrol, diesel

and gasoil from Vopak

Terminal Teesside.

Diesel, gasoil and kerosene are now available from the Greenergy North Tees terminal

BP to invest £300m on Sullom Voe upgrade Oil company BP is investing

£300 million (€370 million)

to upgrade its Sullom

Voe terminal in Shetland,

Scotland which could see the

facility remain operational

for another 30 years.

The improvement

programme will take place

over five years and, with

200 contractors on board,

will include plant and

piping replacement, oil

tank refurbishment and jetty

maintenance. This project

will ensure the terminal is

able to produce oil from

west Shetland oil fields.

BP runs the Sullom Voe

terminal, which produced

9.2 million tonnes of oil last

year, transporting oil from

the East Shetland basin fields

via the Ninian and Brent

pipelines operated by BP and

TAQA Bratani, respectively.

‘Given the scale of the

work we are going to do on

the plant here, and then the

potential gas plant that’s

going to be built at the

terminal, we could be talking

about investment in excess

of £300 million,’ terminal

manager Arthur Spence

was quoted as saying.

Work at Pengerang oil terminal on scheduleStorage tank construction will now get underway at the

$620 million (€477 million) Pengerang oil terminal in Johor

after project developer Pengerang Terminals completed

dredging for Phase 1 of the project, according to Platts.

Malaysian terminal operator Dialog owns a

51% stake in Pengerang Terminals and storage

provider Vopak holds the remaining 49%. Dialog

will operate the terminal once it comes online.

Platts has reported that work on the storage

tank foundations has begun, the first phase

of which will comprise a total 1.3 million m3

of storage capacity and six berths.

Clean products storage up to 432,000m3 is on

schedule to come online at the beginning of 2014, with

a further 432,000m3 for clean products and 420,000m3

for crude oil slated to be operational by January 2015.

An additional 1 million m3 will be added at a

later date during the development of Phase 1.


terminal news


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Petrom opens new storage terminal in Romania OMV Petrom, the largest oil company

in Romania, has opened a new fuel

storage terminal in Isalnita, Dolj. The

facility, designed to deliver petroleum

products to the south of Romania,

cost €26 million to build and has a

storage capacity of 11,000m3.

The project is part of an extensive

investment programme, which has seen

the construction of three new depots over

the last three years. OMV Petrom’s new

facility in Isalnita can store 11,000m3 of

petroleum products, its terminal in Jilava

can handle 27,000m3 and its recent build

in Trees has an 8,000m3 storage capacity.

Neil Anthony Morgan, of the Petrom

executive board, says the total project

cost was just under €90 million. ‘This is the

third fuel depot built from scratch over

the past three years. This modern network

will continue to provide Petrom customers

with products that fully comply with

European standards. For the construction

of the three warehouses in Jilava, Trees

and Isalnita, we invested €87 million.’

Petroleum products supplied to the

three facilities are stored in double-

walled steel aboveground tanks, fitted

with automatic volume and temperature

measurement gauges, in addition to

a fixed fire extinguishing system.

During the construction phase

of the Isalnita terminal, Petrom used

over 5,200m3 of concrete, more than

1,300 tonnes of structural steel and

over 90km of electric cables. OMV Petrom’s new storage terminal is in Isalnita, Romania


terminal news

Fujairah Oil Terminal on track for 2014The Fujairah Oil Terminal (FOT),

currently under development

in the Port of Fujairah,

UAE, is on track to begin

commercial operations by

the end of 2014, Singapore-

based trading company

Concord Energy says.

Concord is developing

the terminal with a subsidiary

of China’s Sinopec and,

on 8 January, announced

the completion of the sale

of a 50% interest in FOT to

Sinomart KTS Development.

The oil storage facility will

have a total storage capacity

of 1,155,000m3. This will consist of

eight tanks totalling 569,000m3

for crude oil and fuel oil, four

tanks totalling 164,000m3 for

fuel oil only, six tanks totalling

152,000m3 for gasoil (diesel)

and 14 tanks with a total

storage capacity of 270,000m3

for petrol and naphtha.

‘We were awarded the

concession to develop the site

at the end of 2011 and, since

then, we have cleared the land

and prepared the site ready to

start construction immediately,’

John Stuart, CEO of Assets

Group Concord Energy, says.

Concord expects 100%

of this storage capacity to

be contracted prior to the

terminal’s start-up, and

reveals it has already had

strong interest from a number

of traders and oil majors.

‘We have also spent

the last nine months raising

a $252 million (€193 million)

project finance facility and

we successfully signed with a

consortium of six international

banks at the end of December

2012,’ Stuart says. ‘Given the

challenging debt markets, we

see the signing of this facility

as a major endorsement of

the quality of this project.’

MUC Oil & Gas is the

project management

consultant on the project

and Rotary Engineering has

been awarded the EPC

contract. Construction will

take 21 months and ground

is expected to break before

the end of January. Stuart

explains: ‘The municipality

of Fujairah has already

constructed all of the port

facilities that FOT will utilise,

and with foundations of

solid rock, it does not face

any soil stabilisation risks

inherent in many terminal

construction projects.’

Fujairah is the second

largest bunkering location in

the world, behind Singapore

and ahead of Rotterdam,

and is being developed as

the key logistics hub for the

UAE. However, Stuart believes

the location is not in danger

of overcapacity as its coastal

mountain range will cap the

number of storage terminals

developed in the region.

‘Fujairah has one of the

highest throughput capacity

ratios. Independent storage

capacity is forecast to grow

from approximately 3.5 million

m3 to 7 million m3. Demand

for bunkers alone in 2010 was

24 million tonnes. There is

also a limitation on the ability

to develop further land in

Fujairah due to the proximity

of the mountain range along

the coast,’ he he says.

Fujairah’s mountain range along the coast reduces the risk of overcapacity

Oiltanking Deutschland announces change in managementOiltanking Deutschland’s Walter Dornhof resigned from his

position of MD on 31 December 2012. His successors Ulfert

Cornelius and Sven Thiessen took over as joint MDs on 1 January.

Dornhof held his position of Oiltanking Deutschland MD

for 19 years, but has been with Oiltanking for over 36 years.

He will remain as an ambassador for the company.

Cornelius has been with the company since April

2000 and in 2011 was appointed MD of Oiltanking

Deutschland, when he took joint responsibility with Dornhof

for the entrepreneurial activities of the company.

Thiessen has held a number of leading positions

within the oil industry for over 20 years. He has

comprehensive knowledge in particular in the areas

of tank terminals, logistics/supply and HSSE.

Web based terminal automation systems Tank gauging and inventory management Stock control systems Bio-ethanol and Bio-diesel blending control Engineering design services Site maintenance

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technical news

Greenergy works with tanker drivers on safety

Jet Edge awarded patent for UHP waterjet seal technology

UK-based petrol and diesel

supplier Greenergy is installing

new equipment at its supply

locations in order to improve

safety for drivers when they fill

their road tankers with fuel.

The initiative introduces

drip trays to prevent the

potential build-up of petrol

and diesel residue in the

loading bay area.

‘The drip trays are simple

but effective. By collecting

even the smallest leaks of fuel

from the loading arms, they

help keep the loading area

clean and reduce potential

slip hazards,’ explains tank

driver Dean Lawrence.

These drip trays have

already been installed at

West Thurrock, Plymouth,

North Tees, Eastham and

Clydebank, and are

on order for Grays and

Vopak Teesside.

Waterjet manufacturer Jet

Edge has been awarded a

patent for its high pressure

fluid sealing mechanism.

The patent was issued

by the United States Patent

and Trademark Office. The

waterjet seal innovation

improves seal life by

providing metal-on-metal

sealing without the use of

conventional plastic seals.

The technology uses two

convex curved surfaces in

single line contact with one

another to seal ultra-high

pressure (UHP) fluid at static

pressures up to 130,000 psi.

Jet Edge initially

developed the metal-on-

metal seal to meet the

increased performance

demands of its X-Stream

pressure intensifier pumps,

which produce dynamic

cutting pressures of 75,000

psi. It then expanded

the technology’s use into

additional product lines,

including tis Eco-Jet direct

drive pumps and several of its

60,000 psi intensifier pumps.

The newly installed drip trays increase safety

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technical news

Krohne introduces new flowmeter

Tepsa wins Atlante 2012

Eriks acquires Valve Entreprise

Krohne, a developer, manufacturer

and distributor of measuring instruments

for the process industries, has

launched a new mass flowmeter for

the energy, chemical, oil and gas,

petrochemical and power industries.

The Optimass 6400 twin bent tube

Coriolis mass flowmeter is equipped

with a new signal converter that

features advanced device and

process diagnostics, and has been

approved for custody transfers

of both liquids and gases.

It also features advanced entrained

gas management (EGM), with no loss

of measurement with gas entrainment

up to 100% per cent of volume.

Available in stainless steel 316L,

Hastelloy C22 and Duplex steel, the new

flowmeter ranges in size from DN 08 to

250. It operates in high temperatures

(up to 400°C) as well as cryogenic

applications down to -200°C. It also

handles pressures up to 200bar.

Bulk liquid storage operator Tepsa (Terminales

Portuarias) has been awarded the Atlante 2012 for

best training initiatives, information and awareness

on the prevention of occupational hazards in the

category of SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

The prize was awarded by federation

sponsor Foment del Treball at its biannual gala

to the ‘Drivers Training’ project, a scheme

that teaches truck drivers about the risks

at terminals and how to operate in safety

conditions, applying preventative measures.

In a statement Tepsa said: ‘We constantly

monitor safety at our facilities and the people who

are working inside. This led us to be innovative

and implement ongoing enhances and new

initiatives that will ensure excellent operations.’

Tepsa is located in the main ports of

the Spanish port system: Barcelona, Bilbao,

Tarragona and Valencia. Its total storage

capacity is around 890,000m3.

Bilbao, Spain-based Valves

Entreprise, a manufacturer

of dual expanding

plug valves, has been

acquired by technology

company Eriks.

The brand is known

among industrial

companies in the field

of tank storage, refinery,

bulk loading, naval and

aviation refuelling systems

and metering systems,

and provides a safe and

reliable environment for

liquid storage and transfer.

The acquisition will see

Valves Entreprise renamed

‘Eriks Valves Entreprise’. Valves Enterprise has been renamed Eriks Valves Enterprise following the acquisition

Engineering specialist Engenda

Group, which provides

mechanical, electrical and

instrumentation engineering

services, is launching a new

company that will deliver

confined space and height

rescue services and training.

The new business, Column

Rescue, will operate under the

Engenda brand from a new

£50,000 (€61,000) purpose built

training centre in Staffordshire,

UK. It will provide training and

rescue support for plant workers

operating in the oil and gas,

power, chemical, manufacturing

and infrastructure sectors.

It will complement the work

done by fellow group company

and column turnaround

specialists DTEC Site Services

but will be delivered as a

standalone service, and has

already been contracted to a

number of UK-based blue chip

companies in the upstream and

downstream refining sectors.

‘The HSE is strictly monitoring

companies’ compliance with

the Confined Space Regulations.

They are reinforcing that all

confined space entries must

have a deliverable rescue plan

and rescue cover in place,’

explains Steve Colclough,

operations director for both

Column Rescue and DTEC.

Engenda’s new business provides confined space rescue training


technical news

Capital Safety upgrades vertical climbing system Fall protection equipment supplier Capital Safety

has implemented a series of new additions to its

vertical climbing system, designed to save the

installer time and to maximise safety for the end user.

The Protecta Cabloc system, suitable for the oil

industry among others, provides assurance of safe

access on vertical structures such as fixed ladders

and poles. It allows the user to ascend or descend

unrestricted while connected to a fall system.

Enhanced features of the system include:

- Top and bottom anchors designed

specifically for use with ladders

- A new tension indicator incorporated into

the bottom anchor gives a visual indication

that the cable is correctly tensioned

- The Cabloc Pro Traveller allows users to bypass

intermediate cable guides without removing

hands from the ladder, providing continuous

movement on the system. In addition, the anti-

inversion feature prevents the traveller from

being incorrectly mounted on to the cable.

The Protecta Cabloc conforms with, and

is tested in line with, EN353 part 1:2002 and

CNB/P/11.073. It is also CE marked, meeting

the latest standards and legislation.

Dantec signs contract with Danish distributor

UK-based Dantec, a

manufacturer of composite

hoses for the transfer of petrol,

oil products, chemicals and

liquefied gases, has signed a

deal with a Danish distributor

in a bid to ramp up exports.

The new deal is with

Fontenay and brings its

total number of distributors

to 49, 41 of which are

overseas. Dantec says its

distributor network is key

to its exports drive, which

sees 70% of its £5.6 million

(€6.9 million) turnover

coming from abroad.

The contract will focus

on selling Dantec’s Danoil

hoses to the Danish market.

These hoses are used to

transfer petrol and oil-based

products between fuel trucks

and storage tanks in filling

stations or storage terminals.

In similar news, Dantec

has seen its sales in the

marine sector triple over

the last 12 months.

The company’s MD John

Laidlaw attributes this rise

in marine sales to the ‘ship

to ship’ and ‘ship to shore’

markets, in which Dantec’s

hoses are used to transfer oil,

chemicals and LPG between

ships or between ships and

terminals. It has also secured

contracts with chemical

tanker operator Odfjell

and UK-based Safe STS.

Laidlaw said the

company ‘is determined

to win more of the ship to

shore market’ from terminal

operators. ‘We presently

have a small percentage

of this market globally but

see massive potential for

growth,’ he comments.

Dantec will target the Danish market after partnering with Fontenay

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terminal news


Saska chooses EAP web-based terminal automation platform

European Automation Projects

(EAP), a supplier of automation

products and services, has recently

completed the next stage in the roll

out of a large terminal automation

system for Bulgarian company Saksa

OOD Novi Iskar Terminal Bulgaria.

The terminal is said to have tripled

in size since the original system was

installed around 18 months ago. Saksa

began working with EAP when its

growing business meant its requirements

changed; EAP made phased alterations

to the Terminal Automation package

to reflect these new requirements.

The i-Supervisor terminal

automation system (TAS) includes

the following functions:

- Tanker loading across multiple

multi-arm loading gantries

and weighbridges

- Tanker unloading through import

meters and weighbridges

- Rack injection of multiple

performance-enhancing additives

- Tank gauging across 30 storage tanks

- High level and low level shut-

off system for tank gauging

- Rack blending of biodiesel and

bioethanol at selectable ratios

- Site access control

- Export of data to Bulgarian

Customs system

- Export of daily withdrawal

data to third party clients.

The system is fully dual redundant and

runs across multiple local clustered servers

with a web interface for individual users.

The latest upgrades to the system include

the addition of bioethanol storage and a

bioethanol rack blending module, i-Blend.

EAP will next be installing a

customised module to handle the

storage and loading of exothermic

additive products which are to be stored

at the site by a major client in the near

future, with further expansion of the site

and the system planned for this year.

The terminal is open 24

hours and loads between 100-

200 road tankers per day.

Saska has installed automation solutions at its terminal in Bulgaria

Edgen Murray acquires HSP Group Edgen Group, through its subsidiary

Edgen Murray Europe, a distributor of

specialty steel products for the energy and

infrastructure markets, has acquired UK-

based HSP Group to enhance its portfolio

of valve and actuation products.

HSP sells valves and actuation products

and services to the global petrochemical,

refining, offshore oil and gas and power

markets in the UK, US and Qatar, and

distributes ball gate, globe and check valves

for manufacturers around the world.

‘The integration of HSP will allow us to

better meet the needs of our shared and

new customers in the energy sector across

European, Middle East and Caspian regions,’

says Craig Kiefer, Edgen Murray’s president.

The acquisition came into effect on 10

December 2012. HSP’s projected revenue

for 2012 is approximately £23 million (€28

million). Financial details of the cash and

stock acquisition were not disclosed.

Vopak installs the world’s largest Bornemann twin screw pump Independent tank storage provider Vopak has chosen to installflexiblepumptechnologyat its storage terminal currently under construction in the Port of Algeciras, Spain.

The terminal will have a total storage capacity of 403,000m3 comprising 22 tanks for handling a range of white and black petroleum products. Instead of choosingdedicatedfixedpumpinstallation such as centrifugal, vane or gear type, Vopak and Ecolaire Engineers opted for Bornemann Twin Screw pumps in ordertodeliverhighflowratesatdifferent operating conditions.

The number of pumps required for the complete

terminal was reduced to just seven units which can handle low and high vicious products and carrying duty points. Two HC 500(<2,500m3/hr),threeHC370(<1,500m3/hr) and two HC 300 (<800m3/hr) will be installed. The HC500pumpisthelargestcastedtwin screw pump available on the market, Bornemann claims.

Vopakwillbenefitfromtwinscrew technology advantages such as self-priming, constantly highflowrates,highsuctionlift, smooth and low pulsations, andmaximumflexibility.

A need for fewer pumps and related equipment has resulted in reduced investment costs for Vopak.

terminal news


Saska has installed automation solutions at its terminal in Bulgaria

in partnership with

IP Week Lunch

Tuesday 19 February 2013,

Park Plaza Victoria, London

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Group Chief Executive, Petrofac

IP Week Dinner

Wednesday 20 February 2013,

Grosvenor House, London

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speaking, sponsoring or exhibiting at

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t: +44 (0)20 7467 7116

e: [email protected]

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n5/01/13 Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) Three people died after an oil storage tank owned by IOC caught fire. Surat, Gujarat, India The tank is located at the company’s terminal at Hazira in Surat and it took fire fighters around

21 hours to contain the fire. The Hazira terminal comprises nine storage tanks. Tank 4, where the fire broke out, was filled

with almost 5,000kl of petrol which burnt out. The fire fighters worked to contain the blaze by spraying the surrounding storage infrastructure with water and foam.

There will be an investigation into the cause of the fire and union petroleum minister Veerappa Moily says a report should be available by the end of January.

He also announced Rs.5 lakh in compensation for the families of those who have been killed.

n25/12/12 Chevron Lightning has been blamed by fire officials as the cause of a blaze at Chevron’s gas well Louisiana, US site in south Louisiana. The Duson Volunteer Fire Department visited the site after smoke was reported coming from

storage tanks. Foam was used by the Lafayette Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Response Team to put

out the fire in the 3,780-gallon tank battery, which authorities say held oil and another product. Nobody was injured.

n 14/12/12 Boston Marine Transport A large amount of fuel oil leaked into Newark Bay around 11.30pm during a transfer Newark Bay, New Jersey, US operation. Containment boom and several skimmers were put in place around the site but failed to

contain all of the fuel. A sheen of oil was visible on the surface of the water in the bay. 112,000 gallons of fuel oil was in the tank at the time of the incident but the total volume of

escaped fuel has not yet been determined.

n 30/11/12 Mantua Creek, Hazardous material leaked into Mantua Creek after a freight train derailed. New Jersey, US The incident happened at the Marine Terminal in Paulsboro, where four tank cars fell into the

river. The US Coast Guard was notified of the incident as it was feared chemicals could leak into the Delaware River.

A reported 18 people suffered from breathing problems and a number of local residents had to be evacuated. No one was injured.

The cause of the derailment is not yet known.

n29/11/12 Trans Mountain Pipeline Trans Mountain Pipeline operators took over three hours to respond to a gasket failure which Abbotsford, British Columbia, led to a crude oil spill in January last year. Canada A report from the National Energy Board reveals warning alarms sounded at the company’s Sumas tank farm for three and a half hours before staff responded. When they arrived at the scene, six hours after the first alarm was recorded, a crude oil spill was

discovered. It had not flowed beyond the containment area, however noxious emissions had escaped into the atmosphere.

The report highlights failures by Trans Mountain’s monitoring staff located at the Edmonton-based control centre. According to the report: 1) staff at the control centre did not set an alarm within the allotted 15 minute timeframe following an oil transfer; and 2) they then did not respond to leak warning alarms that went off hourly until the end of the operator’s shift.

Since these findings have been published, Trans Mountain Pipeline is said to have identified corrective actions to address the report’s findings.

According to the report, the night shift control centre operations did not correctly identify why the volume in the tank was dropping and attributed the alarms to the weather. In fact, the spill was a result of a gasket failure on the roof of a tank caused by pressure from frozen water in the roof drain system.

n15/11/12 BP BP has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) following its part in the Deepwater Horizon, Deepwater Horizon event in 2010. Gulf of Mexico The settlement reached a total of $4.5 billion (€3.5 billion) to resolve all federal criminal charges

and claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The agreement is also cash positive because it clarifies the level of criminal fines imposed on BP.

The Deepwater Horizon event occurred after an explosion accidentally caused a BP oil spill to hit the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. It flowed for three months and released almost 5 million barrels of crude oil, making it the largest marine oil spill in petroleum history.

While BP has accepted criminal responsibility for the accident, it has done so on the ground of ‘negligence’ as opposed to ‘gross negligence’ as it eliminates the threat of a possible indictment by the DoJ and reduces the chances of BP being barred from future US government contracts.

The settlement with the DoJ will increase case-related provisions by approximately $3.85 billion and take the total pre-tax charge to just under $42 billion. BP has committed to paying the agreed $4.5 billion over a six-year period with no single instalment exceeding $1.2 billion in any one year.

BP is still facing civil claims, however, including those arising under the Clean Water Act. The DoJ has said it is determined to prove BP’s gross negligence before the civil courts.

incident reportProviding terminals with up-to-date information on fires, leaks, spills and accidents in the oil and petrochemical industry

terminal news


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regulations

Up until 2003 the requirements

for the explosion prevention

of tank storage facilities and

filling plants for flammable

liquids in Germany were legally

based on the ‘Verordnung

über brennbare Flüssigkeiten

(VbF). The technical rules for

this (TRbF) were prepared by

the German Committee on

Flammable Liquids (DAbF).

In 2003 the VbF was

replaced by a new regulation

without including the

DAbF, which meant that

the TRbF was not updated

because there was no legal

requirement to do so.

In 2008 a date was

set to remove the TRbF

from this new regulation

– 31 December 2012.

However as part of the

TRbF20 storage facilities for

packagings (drums and

IBCs etc) were ‘saved’ in a

technical rule falling into the

scope of a regulation dealing

with hazardous substances. In

the TRGS 510 the requirements

for storage facilities for

transportable containments

for hazardous substances

are also summarised, but

in very general terms.

As part of the TRbF20

storage facilities were

‘saved’ in a technical rule

falling into the scope of

a regulation dealing with

hazardous substances: In the

TRGS 510 the requirements

for storage facilities for


for hazardous substances

are also summarised, but

in very general terms.

Saving TRbF 20 and 30

A similar TRGS 509 for the tank

storage and filling plants is in

preparation but still deals

with these plants in a general

way. So a more detailed

rule regarding this TRGS

509 is needed for anybody

concerned with tank storage.

There was significant

interest in ‘saving’ the

contents of TRbF 20 ‘Storage

facilities’ and TRbF 30 ‘Filling

and emptying plants’ and

a private working group

was founded by German

Association of TÜV (VdTÜV).

The group’s aim is to:

• Combine the requirements

of TRbF 20 and 30 as far

as possible in one rule

• Update the technical

contents of TRbF 20 and 30

regarding new technical

rules in Germany

• Delete obsolete

requirements

• Adopt the new

prepared rule as law

• Implement some national

consequences resulting

from Buncefield.

The group also wants to add:

• Requirements concerning

the combined storage

of transportable

containments and

tanks in one plant

• Requirements for the

storage of highly viscous

liquids in tanks

• Some very special

regulations e. g.

concerning the collection

of flammable liquids in

workshops or as waste.

Specific requirements, i.e.

regarding storage facilities

in which transportable

containments are connected

directly with a production

plant (active storage), are

dealt with in annexes to allow

a reduction of the main text

to the applicable one for

the most part of the users.

Publication of VdTÜV-Merkblatt 967:2011-11

The working group has

produced VdTÜV-Merkblatt

967 ‘Requirements to storage

facilities with fixed tanks,

to the active storage in


and to filling and emptying

plants for flammable liquids’.

VdTÜV-Merkblatt

967 deals with :

• Storage of liquids either

under- or above ground

• Storage facilities in which


are connected directly

with a production plant

• Transportable collection

containments

• Filling and emptying plants

for liquids with a flash point of

up to 100°C. The liquids have

been differentiated into those

with a flash point of up to 55°C,

dealt with by the old European

law concerning hazardous

substances (in the Merkblatt

these liquids are abbreviated

as ‘elh’), and liquids with a

flash point between 55°C and

100°C (in the Merkblatt these

liquids are abbreviated as ‘se’).

The new flash point limits

Germany: new changes explained

Updated requirements for preventing explosions at tank storage facilities and filling plants for flammable liquids came in on 31 December 2012


regulations

of the Globally Harmonised

System (GHS) can be

implemented without any

changes, bearing in mind

that in general a liquid with

a flash point of more than

55°C causes no explosion risk

in Germany under normal

storage and filling conditions.

Graduation of facilities

A new scheme of

graduation has been

implemented differentiating

between storage facilities

and filling plants:

This graduation is especially

necessary for the distinction of

requirements for the fire safety

or the extension of areas

with an explosion hazard.

Updating requirements

Due to the TRbF 20 and 30’s

long existence, there was

the need to re-discuss all

requirements. In many cases a

complete change in wording

was necessary to make the

intention of the requirement

clearer. In other cases there

was only an editorial adoption

to the new national legal

basis or the content as well

as the wording could be

taken as given. But even with

newly worded requirements

it was the intention to save

the level of safety of TRbF

20 and 30 in both directions:

no weaker or stronger

requirements as given before.

Structure of the Merkblatt

Some items were placed in

annexes to allow a reduction

of the main text. Some of these

annexes are dealing with

very specific items, e. g. the

necessity of a bund for liquids

with a vapour pressure of more

than 2bar or the description

of the ‘active storage’. Other

annexes were created only

to save knowledge that

otherwise would be lost.

The main text is structured

mainly in accordance to

TRbF 20. That means that

after some general clauses

(e. g. scope, definitions)

• The principle concepts

of storage facilities

and filling plants

• The fundamental

construction requirements

and retention of leakages

• The fire safe construction

of rooms with tanks

and/or filling plants

• Safety distances to the

neighbourhood or in the

tank storage facility

• Underground storage

• Explosion hazardous areas

an explosion prevention

• Safety equipment of

tanks and of filling and

emptying plants including

venting devices

• Electric flow between parts

of the facilities/plants and/

or the neighbourhood

and electrostatic charges,

lightning protection

and operational

requirements.

For more information: www.vdtuev.de/publikationen/merkblaetter

Grades for storage

Firepotential Volume

Grade 1 All se-liquid with > 5000 l

Grade 2 < 3000 l

Grade 3 3000 – 10000 l

Grade 4 > 10000 l

Grades for filling

Grade 11 All se-liquid

Grade 12 < 200 l/h

Grade 13 200 - 1000 l/h

Grade 14 > 1000 l/h

Charles Smissaert, general manager, Botlek Tank Terminal

Charles Smissaert, general manager, Botlek Tank Terminal

Right location, right connections

2012 was good for Botlek

Tank Terminal (BTT). The sector

as a whole has seen steep

backwardations in the oil market

especially towards the end of the year,

providing no incentives to store product.

We are quite optimistic about

2013. BTT is mainly active in clean fuels,

biodiesel and petrol diesel and we

are optimistic for those products.

Demand is there, but it is essentially

for immediate demand. The longer

term outlook is still not so strong and

we would like to see that grow a little

bit. However, the demand is there for

quality, highly flexible, efficient tankage.

In Rotterdam, we have the whole

Odfjell case, and we now have more

stringent inspections from the authorities.

While there is the risk that the authorities

may overreact, on the whole I believe

it is good that operators adhere to

what is in their permits and make sure

that they fulfil their requirements.

We are quite positive on the long-

term demand and the long-term drivers

of demand for tank storage. There is

a structural imbalance in oil products

across the world. Europe is short on

jet fuel and diesel, so that provides a

steady import flow, but there is a steady

export flow of petrol. On the back

of that, refineries have been closed

and more will follow. That means less

imported crude into the region and more

imported refined products. We still see

an increase in the trade volumes,

physical and in paper trade.

– is luck in store for the storage sector?

outlook 2013


Andrés Suárez, deputy director of strategy and business development at CLH

Facing the challenges of the future

The international

economic situation

continues to be highly

complex and raise major

uncertainties. The demand

for products and services

has undergone a significant

decline ever since the

economic crisis began and,

despite the efforts made by

countries, companies and

citizens, recovery in the EU

countries is proving to be

slower than was expected.

The effects are obvious in

all sectors, including energy,

which traditionally has

depended on the evolution of

the economy and furthermore

has been affected by the

high volatility of oil prices.

In the case of Spain,

oil product consumption,

particularly in the area of

transportation fuels, has

fallen progressively since

2008 and the demand

currently stands at levels

similar to those of 1997.

The forecasts suggest

that 2013 will still be quite a

difficult year for the Spanish

economy, although some

outlook 2013


Bill Henderson, vice president of liquids development, Kinder Morgan Terminals

Well-positioned for further growth

Overall we consider

2012 to have been

a very good year, certainly

commercially. For the Terminals

Group, we are positioned

to take advantage of the

ever evolving shale plays

developments on the North

American continent. This also

applies for Kinder Morgan’s

other business units as well.

Through 2011, 2012 and

even coming up in 2013 we

have had our largest capital

programmes for growth

that we have ever seen. For

2012 capital spending was

close to over $600 million

(€449 million) with over $1.4

billion committed projects,

and we are going to be in

excess of the 2012 capex

in 2013 on the liquids side.

Overall, certainly from

both commercial and growth

perspectives, 2012 has been

a very good year for Kinder

Morgan Terminals and we

see that trend continuing.

However, the past year has

not been without challenges,

particularly in the northeast US.

The biggest incidents

that we experienced in 2012

were both hurricanes. Isaac

hit New Orleans in August

and that was a challenge

for two of our facilities. The

floods challenged some of our

competitors more. We had

initial tankage and customer

disruption at our Harvey

terminal, and there was even

more significant disruption

and damage at our New

Orleans coal export facility.

However, the biggest

impact came from Hurricane

Sandy which affected all

three of our New York Harbour

terminals significantly. While

the damage was extensive,

and there is still much work to

do, we were able to resume

operations, limited in some

cases but quicker than we

could have hoped for.

Overall though, 2012

has been a solid year in

regards to throughputs that

we have seen throughout

our petroleum, chemical,

crude and other bulk liquids

terminals, with all facilities

performing pretty close to

budget with

the couple

of exceptions

mentioned

above.

Imports into

the North East US

remain strong.

The throughput

of petroleum

products through

our Gulf Coast

facilities from

USGC refiners

remains strong.

Owing to

changes in the

marketplace, we

have seen an

unprecedented

demand on our

docks. We have

identified and

are tackling

a number of

initiatives to

help alleviate

this. Overall,

we see the market being

stable and continuing to

grow in the coming years.

We are very upbeat on

the outlook for demand

for the North American

bulk liquids storage sector.

We observe the changing

dynamics in the market on

both the supply and on the

demand side, most of which

is driven by the new drilling

and fracking techniques

in the various shale plays.

The latter is changing the

markets as we speak which

provides opportunities for

new infrastructure, including

pipelines, tanks and docks.

The majority of the

opportunities are not

necessarily related to demand

driver growth. The change is

going to be driven by the shift

in where fuel is sourced from

and the further end product

specification changes driven

by changes in government

regulation, as well as refinery

closures outside the Gulf

Coast. The changes in

sourcing are what will fuel the

opportunities and need for

investment by Kinder Morgan.

Andrés Suárez, deputy director Strategy and Business Development at CLH

Bill Henderson, vice president of Liquids Development, Kinder Morgan Terminals

national and international

bodies are beginning to

indicate that the first signs

of recovery will start to show

towards the end of this year.

With regards to oil

products, since demand is

closely bound up with the

economic situation, any

recovery of consumption levels

will depend on economic

recovery occurring.

outlook 2013


Robb Barnes, vice president of Magellan Terminals

Investing for future growth

Our assets performed

well in 2012, experiencing

both increased throughputs

and lease storage levels.

Our refined products

transportation, storage and

distribution business is solid and

we have significant growth

opportunities for our crude oil

transportation, storage and

distribution services as well as

the refined product business.

Thanks to enhanced

drilling techniques, domestic

oil production is continuing

to increase. Many new

production basins in the

US do not have adequate

pipeline takeaway capacity

to safely transport the crude

oil from where it is produced

to where it is refined. As a

result, substantial investment

in new pipeline and storage

infrastructure is necessary.

Magellan is actively

working on new crude oil

infrastructure projects to

transport, store and distribute

North American crude oil.

These projects include the

reversal of our Crane to

Houston pipeline system and

the construction of the new

BridgeTex Pipeline system.

Both systems originate in

the Permian basin and

require additional storage

capacity at the origin

and destination points.

Generally, we expect

2013 demand for our storage

services to be strong. Our

customers like the fact that

Magellan does not compete

with them in the marketplace.

While our base

transportation and storage

business remain solid, our

growth opportunities are

associated with the increase in

domestic crude oil production.

In fact, we expect 85% of

our expansion spending for

the next two years will be

on crude oil transportation

and storage assets.

Regarding the longer

term outlook, forecasts for

increased domestic crude

production in various basins

around the US are strong,

especially in the Permian

Basin of Texas. As long as we

have a reasonable regulatory

environment, our country

The prognosticators

believe that North America

is looking at energy

independence by 2025.

The whole dynamic is

shifting from North America

being an import region for

feedstocks, etc to being

self sufficient, with a large

potential for exports. So

the whole infrastructure

play starts to change.

We observe the

petrochemical business

where a few years ago major

petrochemical companies

were looking outside of North

America for the development

of petrochemical facilities.

Now, given the supply

growth in North America,

there has been a significant

number of petrochemical

announcements for new

plants and additions to

current manufacturing

facilities. The latter is all

driven by lower supply costs

and availability of supply.

So from an infrastructure

perspective, to be able to

link that supply to demand

creates a wealth of

opportunities for terminal and

storage companies. And in

those markets where the US

and Canada can become

exporters, there is room

for even further growth

in North America.

Brett Simpson, Group CEO, LBC Tank Terminals

Committed to safety and growth

Overall the market appears positive

and strong; however, on closer

inspection we have observed some

differences in performance between

regions and by product type.

Globally LBC has continued in its

commitment to invest and grow in 2012

and utilisation has been high within the

geographical hubs, throughout the

group. In addition we have seen strong

growth in certain product areas. LBC’s

investments are directly linked to customer

demand. Typically, rather like a matrix, we

experience both a strong demand in certain

geographic sectors, such as in the US for

example, and in certain product areas.

Demand for storage at an international

level is driven by product dislocation in

one form or another, i.e. the dislocation

between supply and demand. Asia

continues to grow, however we anticipate

a slower pace for 2013; and within our

European region, LBC is firmly focused

on customer service and investment in

our business infrastructure allowing us to

leverage global product flows under longer

term contracts for European imports.

We see the biggest single change around

fracturing techniques which has opened

up the market for shale gas and tight oil

reserves in North America. In the longer term,

it is reasonable to expect to see a similar

pattern in China, which has the world’s

largest reserves

of shale gas.

These two

economic and

industrial power

houses will

therefore import

and export

different things.

In respect

of 2013, LBC is

responding to

an increasing

number of

requests for

storage and

is actively

building out

its land bank in

the global hubs.

Currently our

focused build-

out activities are centred on the US

Gulf Coast, where LBC has a valuable

land bank with deep water access.

More specifically, over the coming

year, we anticipate growth in certain

areas such as base oil and chemicals,

as a response to industry changes.

Providing value adding services is routine

day-to-day business for LBC. As an example,

probably the most significant service we are

able to provide in Houston is in continuing

to provide our low at-dock demurrage, a

notorious industry issue in the Houston Ship

Channel area. This is possible because

we have the ability to build a new

dock parallel to building new storage.

Brett Simpson, Group CEO, LBC Tank Terminals

outlook 2013


will have the opportunity to

achieve the goal of energy

independence in the future.

An increase in domestic

production creates significant

opportunities for new pipeline

and storage projects.

Factors which will

impact demand for refined

products include the CAFÉ

standards, the Renewable

Fuels Standard and other

environmental initiatives such

as EPA’s Tier III regulations.

Storage demand at our

marine terminals is driven

by market structure, pricing

volatility and connectivity.

Demand for marine storage

has resulted in significant

new tank construction

projects. We have added

almost 7 million barrels of

marine storage since 2007.

Throughput at our

inland terminals is driven by

demand for refined petroleum

products. We expect stable

refined products demand

going forward but overall

volume growth due to

recent higher volume

commitments.

Danny Oliver, senior vice president of marketing and business development, NuStar Energy

Set fair for continued growth

We consider 2012

a successful year

for NuStar as earnings

in the storage segment

were roughly 7% higher

than the previous year.

I believe one thing that

differentiates NuStar from

some of the other storage

providers is that we have a

very high percentage of what

I categorise as ‘fundamental

storage’, where storage is

associated with a necessary

product flow or

crude flow. We have

a lot of terminals

that receive finished

product out of

refineries and as

those refineries run,

those terminals are

always going to be

used to clear the

refinery regardless

of market structure.

We don’t have

a lot of the so-

called ‘contango’

storage that is

subject to trading

opportunities.

The market

structure has not

been there during

the past couple

of years in the

contango storage

segment, with

the market being

backwardated.

Consequently, the contango

type of storage locations

have not been as popular as

they were two years ago. We

have seen that, especially

in Europe where the storage

sector has suffered a little

more than here in the US.

On a more global basis –

and this has worked well for

NuStar specifically – or on a

macro basis in North America,

one of the drivers for storage

that we have seen in the past

couple of years has been

in shale oil development.

The other development

has been rapid expansion

of crude oil production off

the coast of Brazil. This new

production is trying to find the

logistics to get it to market and

that has driven some demand

and expansion opportunities

in the Caribbean.

Our St Eustatius terminal

in the Netherlands Antilles

has benefited from these

new trade flows out of South

America. St Eustatius is our

largest terminal with

about 13 million

barrels today and,

in January, we will

put another million

barrels into service.

We also are looking

at further expansion

of the St Eustatius

facility associated

with the crude oil

flows from South

America, but it is still

early in the process.

The shale plays

in the US and some

of the new South

American crude oil

production have not

only driven some

specific projects

for NuStar, but also

for the storage

segment in general.

We are not seeing the

same significant growth

opportunities in the European

storage sector, however.

Nevertheless, we have

been very pleased with our

operations in the UK and

elsewhere in Europe. We

have seen slight increases in

our earnings in our European

operations in 2012 versus 2011.

In the UK, our expectation for

2013 is to see similar earnings

to what we saw in 2012. It is

definitely a more challenging

environment. Utilisation in

the UK is perhaps a bit lower

than it is in North America.

However, for the most part, we

have our UK storage locked

up in long-term contracts

so we are not feeling the

immediate pressure there.

As for the longer term,

even five years out, we see a

continued need to expand

infrastructure, especially in

North America, to move

increased production out of

these shale oil plays. I think

that is going to be with us

for quite some time. And of

course, there is always the

possibility that the market

structure comes back to

Robb Barnes, vice president of Magellan Terminals and Crude Oil

Danny Oliver, senior vice president of Marketing and Business Development, NuStar Energy

‘We are not seeing the same significant growth opportunities in the European storage sector’ Danny Oliver, senior vice president of marketing and business development, NuStar Energy

outlook 2013


support storage from a

trading perspective – that

there is more contango in

the market. That’s an easy

driver for storage when the

market structure supports it.

Our challenge right now

is being an early responder

to the shale oil infrastructure

requirements. NuStar was

the first mover for the Eagle

Ford Shale play in Texas and

that has helped establish

ourselves and it drives

new developments. So we

will continue to focus on

infrastructure for some of these

shale plays in North America.

With regard to our overall

strategy, at the highest level

there is a strategic direction

change going on at NuStar.

We had three refineries that

we owned: two asphalt and

one fuels. We have been

divesting those refining

assets and turning away

from that margin-based side

refining business to focus

on the fee-based storage

and pipeline operations. So

there is very much a strategic

direction change at NuStar

to focus on the storage

and pipeline segments.

More specifically, to sum

up our specific growth plans

in those segments: it would

be continued development

of shale oil infrastructure

in North America and

expansion in the Caribbean

to address the infrastructure

needs around South

American/Latin American

crude oil production.

Colin Conner, managing director, Oiltanking

Planning for the long term

The storage industry experienced

divergent trends in 2012 with

different regions around the world

facing their own set of challenges.

From a global perspective, continued

backwardation, marked by future

prices remaining too low to hold

inventory, purged the demand for

speculative storage. On the other

hand, continued motorisation of

developing regions, economic recovery

in select markets and dramatically

changing supply demand imbalances

across the globe and within domestic

markets, fuelled demand for long-

term energy infrastructure.

Political tensions in the Middle East

and North Africa, continuing North

American shale revolution, slower

than anticipated growth in Asia and

further consolidation of the refining

sector in Europe were the major topics

driving the oil and petrochemical

industries in 2012 and having the

major impact on the storage industry

in both the short- and long-term.

In 2012 the industry witnessed the

effects of increased focus by local

authorities on compliance with safety,

environmental and security regulations.

Ability to serve customers in a safe,

efficient and environmentally sound

way is becoming the most crucial

competitive factor within the industry.

Oiltanking’s commitment to these

ideals is absolute as we continue to

manage our assets around the world

with ‘best in class’ approaches and

long-term investment planning.

Oiltanking expects that 2013’s

developments in the storage sector

will, to a large extent, reflect the latest

revolutionary changes in the global

oil and chemical markets. Modern

large refineries in the rapidly growing

Middle East and Asia, increasing

competitiveness of the North American

oil and petrochemical sectors due to

the new feedstock base and closures

of older and smaller refining facilities in

Europe, will further change the global

trade flows of liquid bulk and increase

the role of long-distance shipping.

International independent storage

operators with a

broad, long-term

customer base will

be able to benefit

from these trends

in 2013 as well as in

the following years.

As the largest

share of incremental

oil supply is expected

to come from North

America, while Asia

and the Middle East

will add most to the

future incremental

demand, these

regions are projected

to see the major

growth of storage

infrastructure. However, the demand

for storage capacities is expected to

remain strong in practically all parts

of the world – being concentrated

around both the established and

new ‘hub regions’. Further decisions

which will impact the industry include

Japan’s conclusion concerning

nuclear energy and the US’ evolving

strategic view on exports of energy

resources versus value-creating

manufacturing of energy derivatives.

In 2012 Oiltanking performed

well, with many of our terminals

exceeding the expectation we set

at the beginning of the year.

We see the main challenges of

the market in the increasing volatility

and unpredictability of the oil

markets: a number of ‘wild cards’,

such as the impact of changing

growth dynamics of the Chinese

economy or further technological

advancements, can seriously influence

the future flows of liquid bulk.

Looking to the years ahead,

Oiltanking aims to further diversify

both its geographical and product

portfolios. In terms of preferred locations

for the new terminals, Oiltanking is

focusing on the growing storage

markets of Asia, North America, Middle

East and Africa, while further

strengthening its positions in

Europe and Latin America.

Colin Conner, managing director, Oiltanking

outlook 2013


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Walter E. Wattenbergh, president, Stolthaven Terminals

A long-term perspective

Focusing on 2013 is much

too narrow a perspective.

We take a long-term view

and, based on that, we are

continuing to execute Stolthaven’s

global expansion strategy.

Indeed, macroeconomic concerns

notwithstanding, I am optimistic

about the division’s growth plans. The

demand for safely managed and

responsibly operated high quality

storage is there. Steady as she goes.

Stolthaven has benefited from

significant investment in recent years,

as its London-based parent Stolt-

Nielsen has seen fit to underwrite

Stolthaven’s substantial global

expansion. Stolthaven Terminals is

one of three legs of Stolt-Nielsen’s

diversified bulk liquid logistics

business, along with Stolt Tank

Containers and Stolt Tankers.

All told, total capacity for

Stolthaven’s global network

has doubled to 3.9 million m3

over the last four years.

Will the pace of Stolthaven’s

expansion continue in 2013? There’s

no question that it takes time and

effort to integrate acquisitions and

to align them with Stolthaven’s own

global standards for safety – which

always comes first – efficiency

and operational performance.

Planning and executing capacity

expansions at our terminals around

the world is no less taxing. That

said, we are constantly looking

at new growth opportunities,

be they acquisitions, new joint

ventures or greenfield projects.

The demand is there and, working

together with Stolt Tankers and

Stolt Tank Containers, we can offer

customers integrated transportation

and storage solutions. As long

as these opportunities continue

to present themselves,

we will pursue them.

Walter E. Wattenbergh, president, Stolthaven Terminals

Aernout Boot, commercial manager, Vitol Tank Terminals International

Balancing growth and day-to-day performance

2012 has been a good

year for the terminals

sector. The industry has had

strong headwinds, with a

backwardated market that

has been very persistent for

the whole year across all

markets and all products.

Nevertheless, I believe

that most terminals in all the

major markets were operating

at 100% capacity and I don’t

see a lot of idle capacity in

main markets. So in that sense

it has been a good year for

the industry if you compare

it, for instance, to the shape

the tanker industry has been

in during the past two years

with enormous overcapacity.

That certainly is not the case

in the terminal sector.

With the oil market in

backwardation for the past 12

months, everyone that looks

for tanks has to ask themselves

twice whether they really

need one before they make a

commitment. Despite the fact

that people are facing these

conditions, as I said, we don’t

see idle capacity. I think that

is also because a lot of tank

capacity is tied up in long-

term contracts. The test will

come when these contracts

expire. If these contracts were

to expire in 2013, we might

see a bit more pressure.

With regard to 2013, I

believe the year will bring more

of the same that we have

seen in 2012. Structurally, there

is still growing demand for

tankage in the world, although

terminal operators need to be

very selective about locations

for new tanks, which must

add value. Having said that,

most markets will probably

stay in backwardation during

2013. We do see a bit of

contango coming back in

various products and various

markets this year, but by far it

won’t be the state we saw in

2008/2009 when people were

scrambling to get tanks.

The ongoing trend to shut

down oil refineries in Europe

is more of a good thing for

European terminal owners

because it means more imports

coming into the region, more

new flows and new dynamics

in supply and demand. I

believe the refinery capacity

will also be made available

to the market in most cases;

Coryton is a good example of

that. On the whole, the refinery

shutdowns perpetuate the

volatility and the dynamics

in the market which are

both good for terminals.

In terms of the outlook

for longer-term demand,

terminal operators need to be

selective where they invest in

new tanks. The industry needs

to be careful about not over

reaching and building more

tanks in the same locations.

The oil shipping industry

is a good analogy and a

good example of what the

terminals sector shouldn’t do.

A place like Fujairah is also

a good example of where

we have seen tremendous

over investment in storage

capacity, which, in our view,

is not justified by market

demand at that location

at the present time. A lot of

capacity is coming on stream

at Fujairah at the same time.

We saw one terminal come

online last year. In 2013 we

will see probably three new

facilities coming on and in 2014

there will be another terminal

starting up, perhaps even

two new facilities; so we have

five or six terminals all being

added to the existing market.

Our existing business was

also good. We saw record

throughputs in Fujairah,

Ventspils and Europoort, so

2012 has been an extremely

busy year for us flow-wise.

Regarding 2013, we are

still on a strong growth track.

We will start operating the

Mombasa terminal later

this month and the facility

will receive its first oil. That’s

a milestone. We have our

Vasiliko terminal project in

Cyprus, which is being built

right now. The first phase of

the project is on track for

completion in May 2014.

We also look at

opportunities to grow and

develop new business either

by means of new tanks or by

means of smart investments at

existing locations, such as new

jetty lines, manifold upgrades,

extra flexibility, and so on;

investments that enable us to

handle more oil at existing sites.

Due to the backwardated

market, our customers try to

use our tanks more intensively

and that is the reason we

saw the increase in our oil

throughput volumes in 2012.

I think that will also be the

case in 2013; players certainly

are not sitting on oil, they are

turning it over a good deal.

VTTI has a clear goal

to grow further. We have

set up an organisation in

Rotterdam, as well as in

various parts of the world, to

enable us to implement our

growth plans in a structured

way. At the same time, it is

all about being selective in

the growth opportunities that

we pursue. With our Fujairah

terminal, we have an optimal

location; a prime sea front

plot in close proximity to

the Port of Fujairah which

enjoys the shortest distance

to the oil jetties. We already

operate 47 tanks with a total

of 1.18 million m3 capacity.

Newly added to the

existing site is 250,000m2 of

the reclaimed land and

we are looking at the right

opportunities to use that

position constantly. There

are currently several business

plans under study on which

our business development

team work actively. These

potential business plans can

lead VTTI FT to have additional

storage of up to 1 million m3.

At the same time, we

are mindful of all the new

capacity that is coming on

stream around us in the market

in Fujairah this year and next.

For us, any new development

will not be a ‘copy and paste’

exercise,. it needs to be

something that adds value.

For the time being, we have

no approved timetable for

the execution of any specific

expansion plan at VTTI FT.

It is important to keep a

good balance, on the one

hand, between trying to grow

the business in the right places

and at the same time keep a

clear focus on the day-to-day

business. It requires a thorough

understanding of the market

in which we operate, to know

whether it makes sense to

invest and whether it doesn’t.

It is important to have the

discipline not to chase

every opportunity that

comes along.

outlook 2013


Aernout Boot, commercial manager, VTTI

profile

A Prime locationThe Port of Fujairah in the

UAE is one region where

storage overcapacity, in the

long term, is definitely not a

problem. Despite being the

second largest oil bunkering

port in the world, it has storage

capacity of only 3 million m3 –

insufficient for its growing daily

volume of oil cargo handled.

Although the storage

capacity at Fujairah is

envisaged to increase to 7

million m3, significant additional

capacities will still be required

to meet the increasing cargo

volumes anticipated.

The port is increasingly

becoming a trading hub

for petro products due to its

proximity to shipping routes

and high demand of oil

products from Saudi Arabia,

Iraq, Yemen, India and

northeast African nations.

Fujairah is strategically

located outside Straits of

Hormuz, a major international

shipping passage carrying

approximately 40% of the worlds

crude oil supply. It naturally

offers deep water ports and the

ideal climate for all weather

deep water port, enabling open

sea terminal operations round

the year. It is free from events

such as piracy risk, offering

better security for businesses.

In addition to all this,

Fujairah is also close to

OPEC countries having an

oil production allocation of

around 20 million bpd.

With such strong attributes

it is no surprise that at least

seven major storage terminal

projects are planned in

the coming years.

IL&FS Prime Terminal FZC

(IPTF), a joint venture between

India-based IL&FS Maritime

Infrastructure Company

(IMIC) and UAE-based Prime

Terminals FZC, is just one of

these. IMIC is part of the IL&FS

group of companies, which is

one of the prime companies

in India developing large

infrastructure projects.

The IPTF Oil Terminal,

located in the vicinity of the

Port of Fujairah with a draft

of 15m, will benefit from a

dedicated pipeline direct

to the Port of Fujairah.

The land on which on

the terminal will is being built

has been leased from the

government of Fujairah under

a 25+25-years contract. The

company expects a full return

on investment within eight years.

The terminal is being

developed in two phases.

Phase 1 of the terminal

comprises 14 product tanks

with an aggregate storage

capacity of around 333,000m³.

Phase 1 is scheduled for

commissioning by early 2014.

Construction has started

on earthworks for the site fill

and preparations have been

completed. Mobilisation

of construction materials

of tank and associated

works is underway.

The project cost for

Phase 1 is approximately

$130 million (€100 million).

Phase 2 will have a capacity

of approximately 300,000m³.

At the time of completion the

total storage capacity for the

terminal for product storage

will be around 630,000m³ with

26 operational product tanks.

The terminal has been

designed to handle heavy

fuel oil, fuel oil, gasoil/diesel,

jet fuel, petrol and additives.

Provision for additional facilities

like blending, heating, internal/

external transfers and flexibility

in product usage have been

incorporated in the terminal.

As it is still early days, IPTF

is in discussions with potential

customers in this sector.

The feedback received is

confirmatory and firm tie-ups are

in process, according to Shruti

Arora, from IMIC and project

director for the Fujairah project.

In October last year the

Phase 1 EPC contract was

awarded to IL&FS Engineering

and Construction Company

(IECC), who has employed

IOT Infrastructure and Energy

Services as its subcontractor.

‘A combination of project

management, expertise,

experience and local

presence are the key reasons

that led to the selection of

IECC,’ Arora explains.

Multinational construction

company Saudi Binladen Group

has a significant shareholding in

IECC, providing the company

with significant experience in

successful implementation of

mega infrastructure projects,

as well as proven project

management abilities.

UAE-based engineering

consultancy firm MUC Oil &

Gas Engineering Consultancy

has been appointed as the

employer’s representative/

consultant and will be taking

the project management

consultancy role for the

project, including project

design management

and overall construction

management, as well as the

project quality management

and HSE management.

IMIC is already engaged

in projects in India and has

been considering opportunities

overseas as well, particularly

focusing on MENA and eastern

Africa. It is the first time IMIC is

ventured into the port based

oil logistics business, and with

everything going for the project,

it is very unlikely to be the last.

With so much happening in Fujairah,Tank Storage magazine talks to IL&FS PrimeTerminal, one of the latest companies to breakground in the rapidly developing region


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Locations worldwideHeadquarters: 24 Waterway Ave, Ste 400,

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Floating Roof Seal Systems

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Aluminum IFR Systems

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Floating Roof Drain Systems

www.hmttank.com +1 (281) 681-7000

Oil terminal storage capacity

in the Middle East is forecasted

to grow by about 5 million

m3 over the next four years

mainly due to the huge

planned increase in storage

capacity in Fujairah, United

Arab Emirates (UAE).

The region’s construction

boom comes at a time of

rising oil production in the

Middle East to meet growing

international demand,

especially from India, China

and expanding energy

markets in southeast Asia.

Demand is also growing

in the Middle East itself,

where several new refineries

are planned to open

over the next few years in

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and

Fujairah, while a number of

countries are planning to

expand existing refineries.

The choice of Fujairah

as the location to build

new storage terminals owes

to the emirate’s strategic

location near to major oil

producing countries at

the mouth of the Strait of

Hormuz, with safe, deep

water anchorage available

in UAE territorial waters.

Already the world’s

second largest bunkering

centre, the growth of oil

storage facilities in the

Port of Fujairah is receiving

strong support from the

Fujairah government.

Some 5.4 million m3

of storage capacity was

in operation in Fujairah at

the end of 2012, which is

forecasted to increase to

7 million m3 by the end of

2013 with the completion

of new storage projects

totalling 1.6 million m3.

Based on terminal projects

approved and land allocated

for terminal

construction,

the government

expects Fujairah’s

storage terminal

capacity to

increase to 9

million m3 by the

end of 2014 and

reach around 10

million m3 in 2015.

‘Not all storage

companies are

fighting for the

same clients.

For example,

Concord is with Sinochem,

Gulf Petrochem is with

Glencore and Socar Aurora

Fujairah Terminal (SAFT) is

with Socar of Azerbaijan,’

Salem Abdo Khalil, technical

advisor to the Government

of Fujairah, explains.

Currently 12 companies

already operate, or are

planning to construct, oil

terminal facilities in Fujairah

with almost all offering third

party storage facilities. In

addition to those already

mentioned, others include

Vopak Horizon Fujairah (VHFL),

VTTI Fujairah Terminal (VTTI

FTL), EPPCO, ENOC, Emarat,

GPS-Chemoil, Gulf Petrochem,

IL&FS Prime Terminals FZC (IPTF),

Concord Energy Fujairah Oil

Terminal, ENOC Depot and

Main Oil Crude Terminal (MOT).

Until recently almost all

storage terminal capacity in

Fujairah was built for bunkering

use. This is changing however,

due to the completion of the

ADCOP Abu Dhabi-Fujairah

Crude Oil Pipeline and the

planned construction of a

new refinery in Fujairah which

will increase demand for

crude oil and refined product

storage in the port in future.

= double trouble?Operators in Fujairahare feeling pleased with themselves: refinery capacity is growing, the new ADCOP pipeline has just opened and the location is attracting traders from all across Asia.We speak to the main players to find out whether they are now in danger ofovercapacity

storage in the middle east


World-leader in innovative products and solutions for aboveground storage tanks.

Tank OptimizationWorking capacity optimizationInventory / heel reductionEmissions reductionEngineered safetyIn-service cycle optimization

HMT ProductsFloating roof seal systemsFloating roof drain systemsInternal �oating roofsGeodesic dome roofsEmissions reduction devicesFlame arrestor / vent products

HMT ServicesTank repair & maintenanceTank inspection & calibrationNew tank constructionPainting, coating and liningTank engineering

Locations worldwideHeadquarters: 24 Waterway Ave, Ste 400,

The Woodlands, TX 77380

Industry-Leading Tank Product Technologies

Floating Roof Seal Systems

Geodesic Dome Roofs

Aluminum IFR Systems

GREIFR Systems

Floating Roof Drain Systems

www.hmttank.com +1 (281) 681-7000

5.4 million m3 of storage capacity was in operation in Fujairah at the end of 2012, which is forecasted to increase to 7 million m3 by the end of 2013 with the completion of new storage projects totalling 1.6 million m3

In addition, oil producers

elsewhere in the Middle East

and their customers, as well

as international oil traders, are

looking for safe storage outside

the Strait of Hormuz for which

Fujairah is ideally placed to

serve the global oil market.

‘We have major players

operating here so we want to

be selective. We prequalify

applicants, study them

and their plans, then take

a decision,’ Khalil says. ‘We

have limited land in Fujairah

Port and we are considering

diversification of terminals’

activities such as encouraging

blending services and

consolidating cargoes so that

end users have options.’

The government of Fujairah

has invested in developing

modern, high capacity oil

terminals to handle the large

volume of crude and refined

products expected to pass

through the port in future.

Facilities include seven berths,

with a combined length

of around 2,000m, able to

accommodate six large

vessels or 13 small tankers.

Some 52 marine loading

arms are installed in the port

at present while the central

matrix manifold connects all

storage terminals to all the

berths and interconnects

each storage terminal

with each other as well.

To serve the growing

number of vessels calling at

the port as the number and

size of the storage terminals

increases, there are two

additional berths (8 and 9) with

a combined length of 800m.

Fujairah Port Master Plan

calls eventually for 21 berths

to operate in the Oil Port Basin

and adjacent breakwater.

These will include berths with

a 23-25m draft designed to

accommodate VLCC tankers.

In addition to these

facilities, Khalil notes

that Vopak operates six

independent berths and has

one Single Point Mooring

(SPM) for loading and

discharge from its recently

expanded storage terminal.

In addition to building

the port infrastructure, the

government of Fujairah is

also attracting investors

of tank terminals with

attractive port tariffs.

‘The government is

reasonable with port charges.

There is a volume incentive –

the more throughput, the more

incentives there are,’ Khalil

notes. ‘Also, the government

of Fujairah has taken on

the burden of investment

in the port infrastructure.

Companies only have to

build their terminals which is a

great cost saving to them.’

With the volume of

crude, bunkers and refined

products stored and traded

in Fujairah poised to increase

substantially, it is expected

to be only a matter of time

before Fujairah becomes an

oil pricing centre.

‘Becoming

an oil pricing

centre could

be a byproduct

of Fujairah’s

storage terminal

development,’

Khalil remarks.

‘Fujairah

government’s

idea is to fully

utilise its location

potential to open

up jobs for locals.’

The operators’ point of view

Terminal operators building

capacity in the region are

confident overcapacity will

not be a problem given the

large growth potential as

an international oil hub.

‘I am a firm believer in

creating the infrastructure first

and then the business comes.

There were similar concerns

about overcapacity when

Singapore developed but now

storage is fully utilised there,’

Sanjeev Sisaudia, CEO of Gulf

Petrochem says. ‘Once people

know storage capacity is

available business will follow.

As several projects are going

on in Fujairah it can give an

overcapacity impression but

after a while no more land will

be available. There is a limit.’

Phase 1 of Gulf

Petrochem’s planned

1.2 million m3 oil terminal

will be commissioned at

the end of January.

There are 17 tanks in Phase

1 totalling 412,000m3, ranging

in capacity from 12,000m3 to

40,000m3. There is flexibility

with the facilities and through

connectivity with the Port

of Fujairah as all terminals

and jetties are connected.

Around 25% of Gulf

Petrochem’s storage capacity

is expected to be used for

inhouse trading activities for

project partner Glencore,

while the remaining 75%

share of capacity will be

for third party rental.

‘If we see interest for

higher contracted capacity

then we will open up as all

our tanks are profit centres,’

Sisaudia says. ‘Some storage

capacity already is leased. The

balance is under negotiation

and should be finalised soon.

‘Most contacts are from

major trading companies

who see Fujairah as the

next big location. These are

companies evaluating their

business options. There is a

mix of companies; some are

European, southeast Asian

and some from China.’

Gulf Petrochem

expects the majority of its

storage capacity to be

used for fuel oil, including

bunkering, followed by gasoil

products. Phase 1 utilisation

is expected to exceed

65% for bunkering alone.

‘Depending on the

availability of arbitrage,

products stored here will come

from Indian refineries; also, a

lot from the Middle East region

and southeast Asia,’ Sisaudia

says. ‘In terms of product

destinations Fujairah is the re-

exporting hub to different parts

of the world, plus the Middle

East, East Africa, southeast

Asia, India and Pakistan.’

The company is still

Vopak Horizon Fujairah currently offers 2.1 million m3 of storage. Although there is space for another 1 million m3 no decision has been reached on expansion proposals



‘I’m a firm believer in creating the infrastructure first and then the business comes. There were similar concerns about overcapacity when Singapore developed but now storage is fully utilised there’ Sanjeev Sisaudia, CEO, Gulf Petrochem

Siavash Alishahpour, MD, VTTI FTL



planning its Phase 2

development with its overall

size and tank capacities

still to be confirmed. The

terminal site has space to

construct an additional

788,000m3 of storage. One

possibility is that Phase 2 also

will be 412,000m3, doubling

the terminal’s capacity.

‘We expect Phase

2 commissioning will not

be before 2015. We are

trying to get clearance

as there are mountains to

be cleared on the site.’

Chemicals: new opportunity?

‘We are not planning

chemical storage for Fujairah

right now but we are not

ruling this out for Phase 2

if market analysis proves

positive and we see market

potential,’ Sisaudia adds.

Although most new

storage capacity in Fujairah

is planned to handle crude

and refined products, the

Port of Fujairah also has

approved construction

of a chemical terminal,

anticipating growing demand

for chemical storage in future.

‘Ganesh Benzoplast of

India handles acetone and

other chemicals for import

and re-export, supplying the

local market with chemicals

for the paint industry and

plastics,’ points out Khalil.

‘Chemical storage is in a

separate area of Fujairah

Port. Initially chemicals will be

imported through an oil berth,

but, later on, chemical tankers

will use their own berth.’

The big players

Phase 1 of Socar Aurora’s

Fujairah terminal was also

completed in 2012. It is being

built in three stages totalling

645,000m3. Phase 1 consisted

of three tanks totalling

115,000m3, including pump

facilities designed to handle

up to 4,500m3 per hour of

products and 3,000m3 per

hour for clean products.

Construction of Phase 2,

consisting of 11 tanks totalling

235,000m3, is underway and

due for completion later this

year. Phase 3 will consist of

eight tanks totalling 295,000m3

to be completed in 2014.

When fully operational the

terminal will handle over 5

million tonnes per year of

crude and refined products.

Aegean Oil Terminal is

also due to start up this year.

Located on a 100,000m2

site, the 465,000m3 capacity

terminal consists of eight

tanks which are due to be

operational by early 2013.

Emirates National Oil Co

(ENOC) is another company

expanding its storage

facilities, but for its own use

only. ENOC owns 200,000m3

of refined product storage

capacity in Fujairah Port

and a further 2 million m3 of

storage capacity at Jebel

Ali oil refinery in Dubai that

serves its expanded refinery.

ENOC Fujairah Distribution

and Trading Terminal

totalling 240,000m3 is due to

enter service by mid-year

to boost the company’s

refined products storage

capacity in Fujairah Port.

Meanwhile, existing

terminal operators in Fujairah

Port are also planning further

growth in capacity including

VTTI Fujairah Terminal (VTTI

FTL) which has space to

build another 1 million m3

storage capacity and nearly

double its terminal size.

‘We completed major

terminal expansion projects

during 2009 and 2010. Our

terminal capacity expanded

from 470,000m3 to 1.18 million

m3,’ says Siavash Alishahpour,

MD of VTTI FTL. ‘We have

completed several other

small and medium projects

over the past three years

to further improve it.’

The VITOL Group is currently

VTTI FTL’s sole client though

this could change after the

terminal is expended. The

terminal currently handles

crude and a wide range

of petroleum products

including condensate,

naphtha, jet fuel, diesel and

different fuel oil grades.

In preparation for future

expansion VTTI FTL recently

added 250,000m2 of reclaimed

land to its existing sea front site.

No decision to build new tank

storage has been taken so far.

‘There are several

business plans under study

by our business development

team,’ Alishahpour says.

‘These potential business

plans can lead us to build

additional storage up to 1

million m3. However, there is

no approved timetable for

execution of any specific

plan for the time being.’

No sign of a slow down

Rapid expansion of Fujairah’s

storage capacity is expected

to slow in two to three

years as the oil market

absorbs the new capacity.

However, various other new

terminal and expansion

schemes are expected to

move ahead if demand for

storage continues to grow.

Eurex European Emirates

Industries, for example, plans

to build a 317,000m3 storage

terminal in Fujairah Port while

Falcon Fujairah Terminal plans

to build a 600,000m3 capacity

terminal in two phases.

Meanwhile, no decision

has been taken yet on

proposals to build Phase 7 at

Vopak Horizon Fujairah (VHF)

oil terminal where sufficient

space is understood to be

available to build an additional

1 million m3 storage capacity.

VHF currently offers 2.1

million m3 of storage after

Phase 6 of the VHF project,

VTTI Fujairah terminal has added 250,000m2 land for future expansion but has yet to reach a decision on the timetable for this



20 new tanks ranging from

20,000 to 40,000m3 in size

and totalling 606,000m3 in

capacity, was commissioned

at the VHF terminal in 2012.

Vopak owns a 33.3% stake

in the petroleum terminal while

other shareholders are ENOC

subsidiary company Horizon

Terminals, the Government of

Fujairah and the Independent

Petroleum Group of Kuwait.

ENOC uses tanks for

fuel trading while ENOC’s

own petroleum terminal in

Fujairah is used to blend fuel

additives to produce petrol

for the domestic market.

The VHF terminal has seen

almost constant expansion

since the original 489,000m3

capacity Phase 1 facility

opened in 1999. Phases 2

and 3, completed in 2000

and 2001, added a further

combined 323,000m3 capacity,

expanding the terminal’s

storage facilities to 812,000m3.

After commissioning

the SPM buoy in 2003, VHF

added a further 300,000m3 of

storage with the completion

of Phase 4 in 2004. Phase 5,

which involved commissioning

tanks totalling 380,000m3,

was completed in 2008.

Prior to the recent Phase

6 expansion, the VHF terminal

offered 1.5 million m3 of

storage capacity in 48 mild

steel tanks ranging in size

from 6,000m3 to 60,000m3.

Flying high

One terminal development

scheme that has just secured

funding is Concord Energy

Group’s planned 1.15 million

m3 Fujairah Oil Terminal (FOT),

which is due for completion

in time to handle its first

cargo in October 2014.

‘We have spent the last

nine months working hard

to raise a $252 million (€189

million) project finance facility.

We successfully signed with a

consortium of six international

banks at the end of December

2012,’ says John Stuart, CEO

of Concord Energy’s Assets

Group. ‘Given the extremely

challenging debt markets, we

see the signing of this facility as

a major endorsement of the

very high quality of the project.’

Concord is partnered

by Sinopec and a Fujairah

government nominee

company in developing

the new terminal. Sinopec’s

involvement in the project

began after Concord

sold a 50% stake in the

project to Sinomart KTS

Development (Sinomart),

which has significant

experience in storage

terminal operations and is a

wholly owned subsidiary of

Sinopec Kantons Holdings.

Rotary Engineering has

been awarded a fixed price

EPC contract to complete the

new terminal in 21 months.

Construction is due to get

underway by the end of

January according to Stuart,

who notes: ‘The government

of Fujairah already has

constructed all of the port

facilities that our terminal will

utilise. With foundations of

solid rock the terminal does

not face any soil stabilisation

risks inherent in many terminal

construction projects.’

Concord’s terminal will

consist of 32 tanks when

completed. Eight tanks totalling

569,000m3 will be built to store

crude and fuel oil while four

tanks totalling 164,000m3 will be

installed to store fuel oil only.

Six tanks adding up to

152,000m3 will be constructed

to store diesel while a further

14 tanks totalling 270,000m3

will be built to hold petrol

and naphtha. Consequently,

refined products will occupy

about 40% of the terminal’s

storage capacity.

ADCOP recently completed

a 1.5 million bpd pipeline

from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah.

‘In addition to bunker

storage we will offer significant

crude oil storage capacity

as we anticipate taking

crude supplies directly from

the ADCOP pipeline. There

is interest from oil majors in

bringing in crude from the

pipeline and storing it in our

terminal. In future crude also

will be imported for the new

refinery planned for Fujairah.

Not all crude for the new

refinery will be available

from the Abu Dhabi-Fujairah

pipeline,’ Stuart says.

FOT will connect its

pipelines to the Fujairah Port

matrix manifold to load and

unload cargos for clients.

Connected to seven jetties in

the port, Concord’s terminal

will be designed to load and

unload crude and fuel oil at

4,000m3 per hour for batches

up to 120,000m3. Facilities

installed will allow petrol and

naphtha to be loaded and

unloaded at 1,500m3 per hour

for batches up to 30,000m3.

‘We are the first third

party terminal project here to

provide multiproduct storage.

Until now all storage terminal

development has been for

bunkers,’ Stuart says. ‘We

have deliberately planned

capacity for the storage of

crude, gasoil and petrol.

‘The demand for crude

storage is driven by the flow

from the ADCOP pipeline,

crude supply into the planned

new refinery, and break-bulk

and make-bulk flexibility. Our

terminal will facilitate imports

of “short” products such as

petrol and exports of “long”

products such as fuel oil.’

With construction work

about to get underway,

Concord is looking to conclude

take or pay contracts for one

to three years for its storage

tanks. According to Stuart,

the company already has

received two Letters of Intent

from trading company clients

for storage space and has

received inquiries from oil

majors for storage for up to 3

million barrels (500,000m3).

Concord is looking to

provide clients with facilities

to handle port calls by VLCC

oil tankers in future. Currently

fully loaded tankers up to

200,000 dwt can use Fujairah

Port’s jetties while only partially

loaded VLCCs can use the port

jetties due to draft restrictions.

‘We expect a mixture of

product origins: products from

India, especially petrol, when

there are shortages in the

Middle East. Also, there are

no local break-bulk facilities in

Fujairah now for west Africa,

that is done in Singapore at

present,’ Stuart explains.

‘We are discussing with

Fujairah Port about investing

in a SPM but that would

require a significant capacity

commitment by clients.

‘Currently Singapore is

the only major break bulk

location in either Asia or the

Middle East. VLCC loads of fuel

oil are shipped from Europe

and South America, then

broken into smaller cargoes

in Singapore and shipped to

other Asian destinations.

‘Once the full range of

products is available in Fujairah

product will be broken there

for on-sale into the region and

the east coast of Africa.’

Concord expects to have

contracted its entire terminal

capacity by the time the

terminal is commissioned.

‘It is more cost-effective

to move bunkering ashore

where there is lower risk of a

spill. Also, there will be oil from

the ADCOP pipeline taking

up storage and oil majors will

want to store products here.

‘There is little danger

of storage overcapacity in

Fujairah,’ Stuart agrees. Ship

to ship bunkering will come

onshore and take up capacity

due to both environmental

and economic pressures.’

John Stuart, CEO of assets group, Concord Energy Pte

page header


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Magnetrol_TankStorage_Sept2012.pdf 1 8/20/12 8:29 AM

Location Bandar Jask, Iran Products Oil Capacity 20 million barrels Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Project start date May 2012 (announced) Investment $2.2 billion (€1.6 billion)Comment The new terminal will enable Iran

to export more oil from Caspian producers and provide a back-up option for Iran’s main export terminal at Kharg Island.

It will be connected to the Caspian Sea port of Neka via a 1 million bpd pipeline

Iranian Oil TerminalsLocation Faw Peninsula, Basra, IraqProducts Crude oil Construction / expansion / Expansionacquisition Designer / builder Leighton OffshoreProject start date October 2011 (announced) Completion date 2013Investment $1.3 billion (€992 million)Comment Leighton Offshore’s contract is worth

$518 million. The project includes the construction of two marine pipelines and one onshore pipelines, as well as the installation of four single point moorings for loading oil tankers. Foster Wheeler is handling the project management consultancy services

Iraqi Government

Location Port of Genaveh, Bushehr province, Iran

Products Crude oil Capacity 8 million barrels Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Project start date January 2012 (announced)Completion date End of 2015Investment €91 million

National Iranian Oil Terminals

Location Kazakhstan Products Oil Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Completion date The Aral Oil Terminal opened

in January 2012 but could be expanded by a further 12,000 bpd shortly

Comment The new terminal comprises oil storage tanks and a rail loading facility, which transports oil shipments from Tethys Petroleum’s Doris oilfield into the Kazakh rail system

Tethys Petroleum

Tank terminal update –Middle east

tank terminal update


Location Ras Markaz, Duqm, OmanProducts Crude oil in addition to

other products Capacity 200 million barrels Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Project start date October 2012 (announced)Comment Oman Oil Company is already is

talks with potential clients, such as Petroleum Development Oman

Oman Oil Company

Location Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAEProducts Jet fuelCapacity 141,000m3

Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Designer / builder Punj LloydProject start date April 2012 (announced) Comment The terminal will feature a 60km

jet fuel pipeline to the Dubai International Airport, in addition to a tanker truck loading system which will connect the oil tanker berths with the related facilities

Horizon Terminals

Location Fujairah, UAE Products OilCapacity 675,000m3

Construction / expansion / Expansion from 86,000m3 acquisition to 675,000m3 with a total

21 storage tanksCompletion date Q3 2012

GPS Chemoil

Location Fujairah, UAEProducts Petroleum products Capacity 1 million m3

Construction / expansion / Expansion from 412,000m3 acquisition to 1 million m3

Completion date Q4 2012Investment $136 million (€103 million)

Gulf Petroleum

Location Fujairah, UAEProducts Oil Capacity 600,000m3

Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Designer / builder IL&FSCompletion date Mid-2014Investment $100 million (€76 million)

EPC contractComment Primestar and Leasing & Financial

Services began developing the terminal after receiving funding from a consortium of banks led by India’s Bank of Baroda

Primestar Energy

Location Fujairah, UAEProducts Crude oil, fuel oil, gasoil,

petrol, jet fuelCapacity 1.125 million m3

Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Designer / builder Rotary Engineering Project start date End 2011 Completion date Q4 2014

Concord Energy

Location Shoaiba, Saudi Arabia Products Fuel oil Capacity Seventeen storage tanks to be

built at the Shoaiba II Combined Cycle Power Plant Project

Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Designer / builder Rotary Engineering. The

EPC contract is worth $34 million (€26 million)

Project start date June 2012Completion date 2013Investment $1.23 billion

Shoaiba II Combined Cycle PowerPlant Project

Location King Fahd Industrial Port, Jubail, Saudi Arabia

Products Oil Capacity 250,000m3

Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Designer / builder Project start date November 2012 (announced)Completion date 2015 Investment $400 million (€305 million)

Vopak and SABIC

Location Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, UAEProducts Petroleum products, including jet fuel Capacity 141,000m3

Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Project start date May 2012 (broke ground)Completion date Q4 2013Investment $142 million (€108 million)Comment The terminal will also feature

a 58km pipeline, which will be used to transport fuel to Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport

Emirates National Oil Company

Location Fujairah, UAEProducts Oil Capacity 600,000m3Construction / expansion / Constructionacquisition Designer / builder IL&FSCompletion date Mid-2014Investment $100 million (€ million) EPC contractComment Primestar and Leasing & Financial

Services began developing the terminal after receiving funding from a consortium of banks led by India’s Bank of Baroda

Gulf Petroleum





Location Port of Fujairah, Fujairah, UAEProducts Oil Capacity 1.18 million m3, made up of

47 storage tanks, increased to 2.18 million m3

Construction / expansion / Expansionacquisition Project start date Beginning of 2014

Vitol Tank Terminals International

Location Fujairah, UAEProducts Fuel oils, gasoils and middle

distillates including diesel, gasoil and jet kerosene

Capacity Phase I: 144,000m3 in 2012 Phase II: 232,000m3 in 2013,

including 10 new storage tanks Phase III: 295,000m3 in 2014 Total: 645,000m3 comprising 22 tanksConstruction / expansion / Construction on Phase II of the acquisition terminal is underway as Phase

I has finished and the storage tanks built in both stages have been let. The project also includes a third phase, scheduled for completion in 2014. This will feature seven new tanks capable of storing a combined 295,000m3.

Project start date June 2012 (broke ground on second phase)

Completion date Q4 2013 (second phase)Investment Phase II will be built at a cost of

$61 million (€48.5 million), which is being supplied by Apicorp and the National Bank of Fujairah

SOCAR Aurora Fujairah Terminal

This list is based on information made available to Tank Storage magazine at the time of printing. If you would like to update the list with any additional terminal information for future issues, please email [email protected]

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Ph. (785) 472-4461, Fax: (785) 472-3539

Think Environmental Protection. Think Cashco Vapor Control.

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Our vents are engineered to be fully modular in design so they can be converted in design and function in the field. Any one of our vents can be changed to a pipe away, spring loaded, or even a pilot operated vent without having to buy a whole new unit. Now that’s innovation that VCI customers profit from.

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The full line of Vapor Control System from Valve Concepts has established the industry standard for engineered quality and in-field adaptability. The engineered modular design enables us to reduce capital outlay costs from 33% to 66% depending on the model.

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CAS-190M.indd 1 1/27/11 4:56 PM

page header

TANK STORAGE •January/February2013 47WWW.THERMAL.PENTAIR.COM

keep It Safe, keep It Warm Two greaT soluTions from one innovaTive companyTraceTek hazardous area hydrocarbon leak detection system quickly alerts you to the precise location of any leaks so you can take fast and effective action.

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TRAC-LOC

page header


emergency planning


The Arthur Kill Waterway,

between New Jersey and

Staten Island, New York, serves

one of the busiest fuel and

petrochemical distribution

centres in the US. BP, Kinder

Morgan, Phillips 66, Gulf Oil,

NuStar and Motiva all have

terminals on Arthur Kill, which

was right in the main path of

Hurricane Sandy’s record surge.

There were several ‘minor’

spills along the waterway – two

were equivalent to about one

tanker truck each – but at the

Sewaren, New Jersey terminal of

Motiva Enterprises, (Shell), a tidal

surge dislodged and ruptured

a major fuel tank to discharge

approximately 378,000 gallons

of low-sulphur diesel into the

water, officials said. Nearly

three quarters of that amount

escaped the containment area,

rushing into the Arthur Kill and

its tributaries. The New Jersey

Department of Environmental

Affairs says it is the state’s

worst spill in over a decade.

Kayla Macke, spokesman

for Motiva, told Tank Storage

magazine: ‘We continuously

monitor inclement weather

developments such as

hurricanes, and initiate

preparation and response

plans to minimise any potential

impacts accordingly. The

safety of our employees

and assets, the community,

and the environment

remains our top priority.’

The tank was only 10% full,

so this may have played a part

in the tank being dislodged.

However ‘buoyancy’ rarely

affects large, industrial steel

tanks. The chances are

increased for a tank to become

buoyant during flooding if its

volume is low, says Rob Newset

of Amtech Tank Lining and Tank

Repair. ‘This mostly happens

to the fibreglass tanks that are

used in chemicals and waste

water treatment,’ he says.

‘We’ve had to replace a lot

of those since the storm.’

The US’ refining and

petrochemical manufacturers

have developed robust

preparedness measures that

can be taken in the event of

a hurricane or other extreme

weather event. However there

was no risk mitigation strategy,

no automated controls or

check valves that could have

anticipated a 14ft tidal surge

that overwhelmed everything

in its path. ‘You might have

heard reports, but if you

weren’t here, you have no

idea how bad it was. Nobody

has ever seen anything like

this, 48 people were killed,’

says Danny Falcone, a former

purchasing agent and terminal

operator in New York markets,

and now a fuels manager for

Renewable Energy Group,

headquartered in Iowa.

Ultimately, however, he said

the industry did a remarkable

job handling the disaster: ‘It

was the best outcome of the

worst situation. Everybody did

the best job they could.’

Facility roundup

Despite causing the worst

oil spills in New Jersey for 10

years, Sandy also ‘crippled’

terminal infrastructure. It did,

however, recover pretty fast.

The US Energy Information

Administration reported, as of 13

November 2012 that only five of

the 57 terminals in Sandy’s path

remained shut. Nevertheless, all

of the terminals were damaged

in some way. ‘Existing terminal

and transfer locations had the

primary function of getting

damaged equipment repaired

and the electricity back up

and running,’ Falcone says.

‘If it has to pump out water or

get a heat transfer to one of

the tanks, a terminal cannot

load or move any product.’

Over two weeks after the

storm five port terminals in the

Northeast remained closed: in

New Jersey, the Hess terminal in

Bayonne and CITGO terminal in

Linden; in New York, the Phillips

66 terminal in Tremley Point and

Motiva’s terminals in Brooklyn

and on Long Island. These

terminals are not only used for

receiving imports, they are also

used to receive waterborne

oil products from major

aggregating terminals in New

York Harbour in order to move

it into local distribution chains,

particularly in the New York

City area and on Long Island.

Phillips 66 says it had to take

steps to supply its wholesale

customers through its Linden

terminal until its Bayway,

New Jersey refinery resumed

operations. The processing

units at Bayway made it

through Sandy undamaged,

but the refinery’s capability

to pump existing inventory

to the terminal was disabled

along with the marine dock

which accepts shipments of

In t

he

storm

’s w

ake Hurricane Sandy shut oil distribution infrastructure in the Northeast

down cold at the end of last year, putting terminals, tanks and the supply chain to the ultimate test

by Nicholas Zeman

emergency planning


fuel. Most of the damage

was to electrical equipment

flooded with saltwater during

the historic surge. Phillips

said Bayway would be

down for two to three weeks

following the storm. It also

was coordinating a clean

up effort with area officials

and the US Coast Guard.

Approximately 185 barrels, or

7,700 gallons, of oil was spilled

as a result of the storm surge.

Generators and the fuel

to run them were also in high

demand explains Dennis Burke

of Burke Oil, Massachusetts.

‘Burke Oil was fortunate

enough to have fuel on

hand to serve the Federal

Emergency Management

Administration and the New

York and New Jersey markets

areas most affected.’

Electric power was

the main issue for Kinder

Morgan, New York Harbour

terminals and its other

facilities in Carteret and Perth

Amboy in New Jersey and

Staten Island, New York.

‘Like others, we

experienced flooding,

damage and a loss of

electricity at our Northeast

facilities,’ Kinder Morgan

terminals president Jeff

Armstrong says. ‘Thanks to

our pre-storm preparations,

and extremely dedicated

employees working around

the clock following it, we have

made significant progress in

assessing these terminals and

preparing to resume service.

We will be able to resume

operations even if power has

not been restored, as we have

brought in power generation

resources from our operations

elsewhere. Additionally,

we are working closely with

government agencies to restart

operations as soon as possible.’

Nustar also indicated to

Tank Storage magazine that

its terminal in Paulsboro, New

Jersey was also compromised

by power outages: ‘We have

a good relationship with New

Jersey Governor’s office and

we had generators out at the

site quickly. But there was a lot

of flooding, and a lot of water

had to be pumped out.’

The storm also killed an

independent terminal deal.

TriState Biodiesel (TSB)of New

York was looking at purchasing

a fuel terminal along the

Pasaic River but, after

reviewing the damage done,

TSB is not moving forward with

the acquisition. ‘This location

was clearly in a flood zone,’

states Dehran Duckworth,

fuels manager at TSB.

Things look different

Hurricane Sandy showed the

intimate integration of the fuel

supply chain – if a terminal

taking loads off a pipeline

goes down, pretty soon the

pipeline is backed up and the

list goes on. Even the back-

up of a few loads can cause

huge disruptions. A bottleneck

in the Colonial Pipeline for

instance, the prime connector

of Gulf coast refining capacity

to New York markets caused

a build up in inventories. With

capacity disrupted, many

terminals in the region did not

have the ability to take volumes

off the Colonial Pipeline.

‘Even if you were not in the

path of the storm you were

still damaged because of

the chain reaction,’ Falcone

says, adding that the fuel

distribution system is fragile and

complicated. Every link supports

each other through symbiotic

relationships. The storm also

showed, however, that there is

an opportunity for independent

fuel suppliers – not 100%

dependent on the traditional

supply chain – to provide

product in times of shortages

or increased demand. ‘There

are going to be shortages,

and that is when you have a

good position with a ratable

product,’ Falcone says. ‘Having

your 60,000 gallons of storage

stocked will be gone in a day,

so you have to think bigger.’

‘We try to keep our avenues

of acquiring fuel very open,’

Duckworth agrees. ‘We are

connected to a small network

of producers in New England

and that kept us going through

the storm. For one thing it

was refreshing because there

was no skepticism about

biodiesel, we just heard “We

need fuel and we need it

now” from customers. There

has been a push-back against

biodiesel based on lack of

info, but it performed well and

even more importantly, was

available through the storm.’

All of a sudden, suppliers

with access to alternatives

like renewable fuels had an

opportunity. Even major oil

companies were making deals

with third parties to get fuel,

and the storm showed that

independent fuel suppliers

need to be prepared for those

situations in the future.

page header


March 7-8, 2013 JW Marriott | Houston TX

This conference is response to the challenge being faced by U.S. petroleum companies who are pumping crude out of the Bakken shale in North Dakota and Montana. The sudden increase in volume has resulted in the problem that the companies are having problems shipping the crude to the refineries. This conference is a follow up to our highly successful 2012 Bakken Crude Oil Logistics Conference, where we had very good attendance, numerous sponsors, and a great lineup of speakers. This event is organized to help bring together the crude producers, the rail companies, truckers, barges, and those who pthose who provide technology solutions to help develop a more efficient supply chain.

www.crudeoillogistics.com

PRESENTED BY

training


In the world of health and

safety, good workplace

competency takes centre

stage. In the early days,

competency was a mere

ideal thrashed out by safety

experts over bad coffee. Now,

competency has become

the standard high hazard sites

are compelled to achieve.

What is competency?

Like a fine wine, competence

matures over time. Bubbles

of personal improvement

float to the surface through

a mix of training, on-the-

job learning, instruction,

assessment and qualification.

Now, the Process Safety

Leadership Group (PSLG) report

into Safety and Environmental

Standards for Fuel Storage Sites

describes competency as:

‘A combination of practical

and thinking skills, experience

and knowledge. It means

the ability to undertake

responsibilities and to perform

activities to a recognised

standard on a regular basis.’

To clarify, competency

simply means keeping

the workplace safe

today, tomorrow and

happily thereafter.

Does everyone need to be competent?

In short, yes. This is particularly

the case given that the Health

and Safety Executive (HSE)

has grabbed the issue by

the scruff of the neck. As the

HSE embarks on its review of

competency management

systems, with a focus on high

hazard sites, the industry

must analyse its ability to

demonstrate and continually

develop competency.

Good competency systems:

• Support regulatory

compliance

• Reduce incidents

• Avoid working days lost

and potential litigation

• Enhance profitability

by getting things right

proactively rather

than reactively.

And this is more than just about

the law. Good competency

keeps staff happy thereby

improving culture and attitude

within working environments.

Balancing the equation

Good workplace competency

consists of a careful blend

of unique elements. Just

like the perfectly balanced

petrochemical compound,

getting the mix right is crucial

– one wrong ingredient and

things can quickly turn volatile.

Competency comprises

three core elements:

knowledge, skill and

experience. In this age of

greater autonomy, two key

behavioural aspects must also

be taken into consideration:

understanding and attitude.

The secret ingredients:

• Knowledge:the ability

to undertake specific

Training: just like a fine wine...

Client: Simon StorageBrief: Delivery of vocational assessment against L2 Diploma in Bulk Liquid Operations. Develop training modules based around Simon’s core operational principles, supporting the knowledge requirements of the L2 Diploma in Bulk Liquid Operations, including:• Process safety• Tank dipping and sampling operations• Jetty operator responsibilities• Safe product transfer• Road receipt and discharge operations• Rail receipt and discharge operations• Routine maintenanceTimeline: 2009 - present

Flexibleontraining,inflexibleonsafetyDeveloping training materials around Simon’s specific needs has had a measurable impact on the company’s competency culture. Outcomes include:• Standardising training material across the group and raising

the importance of the minimum operating procedures• Cost benefits by introducing authorised trainers• Validated training by an independent body (NSAPI)• Supporting cogent gold standards.

Storing up good faith with Simons

training


tasks, in the right

order, with the correct

resources. Knowledge

can be derived through

classroom-based and

onsite training as well as

continuous development

within the workplace.

• Skill:practical and mental

aptitude to carry out

the task at hand, to a

recognised standard,

on a steadfast basis.

• Experience: develops

over time. It is important in

this development phase

that personnel know

what good competency

is and embed this into

their routine. This should

be supported by robust

assessment practices,

ensuring the ability to

perform prior to going

‘solo’ and refreshed

throughout their career.

• Understanding:a deeper

aspect of ‘knowledge’.

It represents individual

awareness of the

consequences of the

actions you take, be

those good or bad.

• Attitude:influenced

by a variety of factors

including personal aspects

of our lives that may

affect concentration.

Managing competency systems

A competence management

system (CMS) needs to ensure

that staff have received

appropriate training and

continuous development.

Any effective CMS should

align to six key principles:

1. Demonstrating leadership/

commitment

2. Identifying business critical

activities relating to the

control of accident hazards

3. Setting procedures

and standards

4. Compliance against

your standards

5. Taking actions to

improve competence

6. Commitment to continuous

improvement.

A good CMS does not

just provide assurance to

regulatory authorities; it

delivers tangible benefits

to the business by reducing

risks to people, environment,

plant and profit.

Industrial strength competency

Good workplace competency

is not just about a one off

review, observation or audit.

It lays the foundations on

which safer performance is

built and embedded in an

organisation, its culture, workers

and business. That is why it is

so important to get it right.

For more information: This article was written by John Reynolds, director at RTS – a leading provider of specialist safety training and consultancy to the petroleum and petrochemical industries, www.reynoldstraining.com

John Reynolds will also be presenting at the upcoming StocExpo Conference & Expo in Antwerp from 19-21 March, www.stocexpo.com

Cogent Cogent, led by employers, works closely with industry to identify skills gaps and needs, developing standards and qualifications. Cogent underpins the quality of the standards developed and passes to the awarding bodies for formulation into the formal qualification structure.

National Skills Academy for NSAPI links training providers with industry, providing Process Industries skills assurance, helping identify training gaps as well as

benchmarking skills against the gold standards. NSAPI also leads the development in Process Safety

Training Standards, providing a suite of standards from senior executive through to operational personnel.

They are leading the way developing standards with Cogent and the downstream advisory council to improve petroleum safety training aimed at contractors in high hazard environments.

Awarding bodies PAAVQSet/ Awarding bodies play a vital role in ensuring the quality City and Guilds of the standards delivered. These include: • Approving centres for delivery of the qualifications • Ensuring Assessors are Competent to assess • Providing external quality assurance to ensure that centres

reach and maintain the high standards required. They are regulated by the Office of Qualifications

and Examinations Regulation, the Welsh Government, CCEA and the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

Trainers/assessors and The trainers’ role is vital in imparting knowledge. Whether training providers training is developed and delivered in-house or provided by an

external provider, it is the quality and consistency that counts.

Awarding body

PAAVQ-Set and City and Guilds

PAAVQ-Set and City and Guilds

NEBOSH

NSAPI

Cogent

Qualificationtype

L3 award assessing competence in the work environment

Downstream standards:• L2 Diploma in Bulk

Liquid Operations• L2 & 3 Diploma in

Field Operations• L2 & 3 Diploma in

Jetty Operations• L3 Diploma in Control

Room Operations

• L3 Award in Oil and Gas Operational Safety

• L2 Award in Health and Safety for Process Industries

• Process Safety Leadership• Process Safety Management

- Foundations• Process Safety Management

- Operations (due 2013)

Downstream Gold Standards• Bulk Storage Operator• Jetty Operator• Field Operator• Control Room Operator• 1st Line Supervisor

Usage

This qualification ensures the competence of those carrying out roles in the workplace, using observation and questioning as the principle assessment methods.

These qualifications form the backbone of competence standards within the downstream sector. Underpinning knowledge and performance requirements, they can be taken as full qualifications or broken down into separate units.

These qualifications underpin health and safety, whilst ensuring the value of good process safety is embedded into the organisation.

Three sets of standards underpin process safety across all levels from operators through to senior managers.NSAPI also provides validation for bespoke course development.

This is a national framework for continuous professional development, setting out the skills required to deliver Gold Standard performance in key job roles within the downstream sector. Enhancing core skills across four areas: Technical Competence, Functional and Behavioural, Business Improvement and Compliance.

There are a range of available vocational and academic qualifications, including:

So who sets the standards?

Qualifying good competence


automation

Aluminum geodesic dome roofs are used to cover storage tanks up to 120 m diameters in the petroleum industry.

• Extreme Light-Weight Construction• Corrosion Resistance• Low Maintenance• Low Erection Cost• Minimum Emission

automation


Terminal automation

supplier Toptech Systems has

partnered with Rotterdam-

based Argos Group and others

in Europe to pilot a platform

that is able to deliver terminal

lifting data to partners that do

business at these terminals.

For the last few years

Toptech has been working to

address the various ‘right-to-

lift’ controls suppliers want

to leverage to appropriately

allocate to their customers.

These controls include credit

and allocation management

as well as order-based loading.

The Toptech Data Services

(TDS) platform has been

used in the US for the past

15 years. It is a hosted data

exchange service between

terminal operators and

fuel suppliers. TDS services

include Bill-of-Lading (BOL)

data delivery as well as lifting

control toolsets designed

to give customers better

visibility and management

over their business.

First steps in Antwerp

In October 2010, Toptech

hosted a workshop at its

Antwerp facility to initiate

dialogue about the exchange

of data between European

petroleum trading partners.

This event was attended

by many of the industry’s

most influential players,

such as Argos (North

Sea Group), BP, Comfort

Energie, ExxonMobil, Kuwait

Petroleum, Lukoil, and Shell.

Shortly thereafter Toptech

became involved in the

Terminal Data Exchange

Standards (TDXS) initiative.

The goal of this initiative is

to formulate a global data

exchange standard that is

built on both US PIDX standards

and EU requirements.

The first phase of this effort

offers direct feeds of BOL data

from select terminal facilities

to TDS. These feeds will enable

Argos and other customers to

visualise real-time lifting data

from the non-owned terminals

in which they do business.

Recently, the completion

of the second phase of this

project now offers direct

data feeds to the Argos

TopHAT system. TopHAT,

another product of Toptech,

provides consolidated terminal

data from both the Argos

owned and non-owned

facilities. This consolidated

data is fed directly into

the Argos ERP system.

According to Martin Sissing

of Argos: ‘We are very pleased

to be among the first in Europe

to adopt a centralised data

clearinghouse approach to

share critical terminal data

with others in the supply chain.

As Argos continues to expand

our infrastructure, it will be

increasingly beneficial to

have the ability to provide our

customers with critical lifting

data in real-time. In addition,

we are able to receive data

from our own terminal network

as well as Outside Supply

Points (OSPs) in real-time

using a single interface our

TopHAT to our ERP system.’

The same benefits seen

by Argos can be enjoyed by

others in Europe. Any facility

using Toptech’s TMS inherently

supports TDS. In addition, most

automation systems today

support PIDX protocols which

are also supported by TDS.

Companies have valid data

exchange options available

today and the opportunity

to align with the global

standard when it is available.

The future is bright

With the European community

working towards the adoption

of a global standard,

new opportunities are

beckoning on the horizon.

Through TDS and other data

clearinghouses, companies

can simplify and improve

business processes while at

the same time exercising

tighter inventory controls.

The TDS platform has been

designed to work with the

established PIDX protocols

ensuring compatibility

with most major terminal

automation systems. For

added flexibility, TDS also

supports a proprietary data

exchange format via TMS, the

company’s own automation

solution which is used at over

800 facilities worldwide.

Rising fuel costs drive

the need for tighter supply

and inventory controls.

Furthermore, most companies

seek to reduce IT infrastructure

and complexity by turning to

hosted software platforms,

also referred to as ‘Software

as a Service’ (SaaS) to

perform critical functions

such as data management

and routing. Industry-wide

data clearinghouses are

designed to remedy for the

aforementioned challenges.

For more informationwww.toptech.com

Sometimes it takes a partnership

Argos is among the first in Europe to adopt a centralised data clearinghouse approach to share critical terminal data with others in the supply chain

tank foundations

Tank foundation being prepared

The foundation is one of

the most important parts of

a storage tank. However

most codes do not provide

detailed requirements and

guidance on foundation

design. Furthermore, codes

such as EEMUA and API do not

provide recommendations on

renovated tank foundations,

only for newly built tanks.

Certain types of foundation

such as concrete ringwalls

might be too expensive

and time consuming

for renovated tanks.

Although the subsoil

underneath a renovated

tank has experienced greater

load in the past, a systematic

design methodology still

has to be considered,

especially when the subsoil

conditions exhibit large

settlement and are sensitive to

variable loading. This is often

neglected due to insufficient

knowledge on foundation

and subsoil conditions.

Codes and standards

also provide little guidance

on this issue, raising difficulties

to practitioners who then

have to resort to engineering

judgment for repaired tank

foundations. In this case,

expertise in local subsoil

conditions and knowledge in

foundation engineering design

are of paramount importance.

This article is written based

on a case study of renovated

tanks with particular emphasis

on the foundation design of the

stone-ring with an inner sand

pad as the foundation type.

The tank type is a floating

roof with product liquid of less

than 70ºC. The tank diameter

ranges between 15-76m

with maximum short-term

foundation pressure of 175kPa.

Foundation design

A tank foundation must

be designed with a view

to satisfy the following

performance criteria:

- It is capable of supporting

the load of the tank

and its content – the

ultimate limit state (ULS)

- Without excessive

settlement that might

hinder structural integrity

– service limit state (SLS)

- Maintain the integrity

of the tank structure

throughout the life cycle

time of the tank.

In the case of tank repair,

the repaired foundation still

has to be designed to fulfil

the above criteria. Particular

attention should be paid to

ensure the ULS of a renovated

tank foundation remains

within an acceptable range

according to what is stipulated

in the standards. However,

the available standard only

provides the required factor

of safety (FoS) of newly built

tanks, which is obviously the

requirement designated for

original subsoil conditions.

If the tank previously

performed satisfactorily over

an acceptable period, the FoS

pertaining to that period may

be used as a benchmark to

assess stability requirements of

the repaired foundation. At any

rate, the repaired foundation

should take into account:

(1) possible settlement due

to the additional load as a

consequence of new design

geometry, new

materials or

contents, and (2)

the tank’s lifetime

(lifetime for the

next operational

period). These

requirements

should be

emphasised

where subsoil

conditions

promote large total and

differential settlements.

ULS

Global and local analyses have

to be performed to assess all

possible failure patterns of the

renovated tank foundation by

modelling the tank foundation,

paying particular attention to

the edge of the tank. Those

analyses have to be performed

taking into account: (1) specific

and critical load cases, and (2)

the quality of the repair works.

In the case of tank

renovation, the stress history of

the subsoil has been influenced

by the previous foundation

system and loading conditions.

Specific attention must be

paid to the evolution of soil

properties resulting from the

previous consolidation and

settlement occurring during

the first phase of loading.

Therefore, three major load

cases have to be considered

to reflect the stress history

of the subsoil: (1) load case

when the tank was initially built

(load case A), (2) at the end

of the operational period just

before the tank was emptied

to be repaired (load case B),

and (3) with the renovated

foundation (load case C).

The FoS for load case

C should preferably not be

lower than any of the FoS for

other load cases to maintain

compatibility of design

requirements with those

observed during the tank’s first

satisfactory operational period.

If this is not the case then the

tank owner should be informed

where a decision and possibly


Renovated tank foundations– design and safety considerations

tank foundations

counter measures against the

low FoS after renovation (load

case C) should be taken.

An additional critical load

case has to be considered

when the tank is lowered onto

the renovated foundation,

since local failure around the

tank edge may be induced as

a consequence of eccentric

loading of the tank shell weight.

In this case, construction

details around the edge and

quality of repair works are of

paramount importance.

The construction details

around the edge might include

the foundation thickness, the

foundation shoulder width, the

quality of the repair work and

the type of material around

the edge. The presence of

sand-asphalt layer, and the

related drip plate welded

perpendicularly to the outer

edge of the annular bottom

plate, must be considered.

SLS

Although the subsoil has

experienced a greater

load in the past, the issue of

additional settlements of the

renovated foundation under

extra materials has to be

explicitly considered. However,

a distinction should be made

between the settlement that

takes place uniformly and

gradually or unevenly.

Settlement that takes

place uniformly and gradually

does not cause stress to the

imposed tank structure as

explained in API Standard 653.

The magnitude of the uniform

settlement should be taken into

account in the final design of

the renovated foundation as to

maintain the foundation level

within the acceptable limit.

Uneven settlement

causes significant problems

to the tank structure as it

may introduce stresses on the

tank shell. This settlement is

observed by measuring shell

elevation along its perimeter

during hydrotest, repair phase

and operational period. API

Standard 653 provides detailed

explanation on assessing

various settlements to maintain

tank integrity. However, there

is no detailed guidance

as to what Percentage

Allowable Settlement (PAS)

can be tolerated right

after foundation repair.

For repair tank foundation

(renovated tank foundation),

specifying the PAS after

hydrotest is required, in the

authors’ opinion, (1) to allow

controlling foundation work, (2)

to enforce quality construction

work and (3) to allow for future

deformation during repaired

tank’s operational lifetime.

Case study

The case study involved five

selected tanks with tank

diameters of 44-61m giving

volumetric sizes ranging from

19,500m³ to 47,300m³. The

tanks were built in the 1950s.

Only one of the five tanks had

a fixed roof while the others

had a floating one – these

roof types were kept the

same after the tank repairs.

All the tanks were located

at the same area where

the subsoil conditions, in

descending order, consist

of: (1) relatively loose to

medium dense sand, (2) very

soft to soft peat and clay, (3)

medium dense to very dense

sand, and (4) stiff clay.

The lateral variability of the

subsoil is significant in this area

where the thickness of the soft

soil can vary from 1m to 10m,

while the depth of the top of

the weak layer ranges from 1m

to 5m. The first two layers are

considered as the governing

layers for the foundation design,

especially the depth and the

thickness of the weak layer.

Observations - ULS

In all the cases the FoS showed

a significant increase from

load case A to load case B

due to the increase of the

undrained shear strength (Su)

as a result of consolidation

process taken place during the

previous operational phase.

On the contrary, the

addition of new foundation

materials reduces the FoS

due to additional stress

concentrations on the weaker

soil. Most of the slip surfaces

reach the base of this layer and

Factor of Safety evaluated for the five tanks

Failure pattern with thick very soft to soft clay

Failure pattern with thin very soft to soft clay


tank foundations


the failure pattern evolves from

a pure edge shear mechanism

to a partially lateral squeezing

between the two sand layers,

sandwiching the clay layer

depending on the depth and

the thickness of the latter. This

emphasises the importance

of analysing renovated tank

foundations systematically by

taking into consideration the

stress history of the subsoil.

The local analyses showed

significant effects on the

required foundation dimensions

such as shoulder width and

the use of a drip-plate. For

a stone-ring foundation the

local FoS increases sharply

with the shoulder width in

the 0.5 to 1m range, and

then levels off beyond a

shoulder width of 1.5m.

Therefore, a minimum

foundation shoulder width of

1.5m was adopted. This complies

with the available standard

(EEMUA Publication 183), but it

is in variance with API Standard

650 which suggests a minimum

shoulder width of 0.9m.

It is understood that

the sand-asphalt placed

underneath the tank bottom

has no structural capacity.

However, it was observed that

the thin layer of sand-asphalt

might significantly influence

edge settlement especially

upon tank landing. The actual

sand-asphalt behaviour remains

uncertain because it depends

on several factors, especially

its viscosity under variable

loading (creep and fatigue).

In this study, the sand-

asphalt layer is characterised

as a geotechnical layer by

adopting a Mohr-Coulomb

geotechnical failure criterion.

Following a conservative

approach, the drip-plate was

shown to help confine the

sand-asphalt layer, thereby

reinforcing the foundation

against localised failure

around the edge of the tank.

However, the shear strength of

the sand-asphalt still governs

the stability around the edge

of the tank. Incorporating

a drip-plate into the design

increased the FoS by about

0.5m, conveniently providing

the required safety margin.

Observations - SLS

The global settlement analysis

was performed on the tank

to distinguish between the

short- and the long-term

settlement behaviours. Short-

term settlement reaches

the maximum value close

to the tank edge while

the long-term settlement

reaches the maximum value

at the centre of the tank.

Long-term settlement

is mainly governed by the

thickness and the depth of the

weak and compressible layer,

while the short-term settlement

is mainly governed by the

stiffness of the upper layers.

The maximum foreseeable

post-repair settlements have

been calculated at about

40cm at the shell location

against a maximum of about

70cm at the centre of the tank.

The settlement anticipated

at the shell has been added

to the recommended 60cm

foundation thickness to enforce

the required free board of

the tank periphery above the

average adjacent terrain.

Finally, permissible settlement

criteria for the three settlement

criteria defined by API Standard

653 (shell, edge and bulge

settlements) have been set

as 40% of the corresponding

maximum allowable settlement.

This criterion is related to

settlements measured after

a hydrotest. Those settlement

criteria were specified based

on: (1) observation of settlement

data, (2) feasibility, and (3)

discussions with the client.

For more information: This article was written by Prigiarto Yonatan and Nicolas Charue from Fugro GeoConsulting Belgium, www.fugro.be in cooperation with Alain Holeyman from GeOpinion, Belgium and Evert Martens, freelance EEMUA 159 and API653 assessor at Tanxperts, www.tanxperts.com, Netherlands.

This article focuses only on limited aspects which are considered vital for renovated tank design, leaving out details pertaining to the design.

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anzeige_halbe_Seite.indd 1 21.12.2012 10:14:10

True vapour pressure (TVP) is a physical

property pertaining to the potential of

a liquid to evaporate. TVP is a critical

parameter in the estimation of storage

tank emissions, and it is also used

to determine the applicability of air

regulations to a given storage tank.

When a regulated storage tank

contains a volatile organic liquid which

has a TVP greater than 11.1 pounds per

square inch absolute (psia), regulations

typically do not allow a floating roof

as a control option but rather require

the emissions to be routed to a vapour

control device. Accurate determination

of the TVP, then, is critical for determining

whether a floating roof is an acceptable

control option for a given storage tank.

This issue has become particularly

sensitive for the light crude oils that are

produced from shale oil plays, in that

traditional determination methods may

predict the TVP of these light crude oils to

occasionally exceed the 11.1 psia limit.

Storage tanks containing stabilised

crude oil are generally equipped with

floating roofs to control air emissions.

A floating roof covers the liquid

surface, thereby largely preventing

the evaporation that would otherwise

occur at a free liquid surface. Floating

roofs have been demonstrated to

achieve well upwards of 90% reduction

in storage tank emissions, as long

as the stored liquid is not boiling.

Floating roof storage tanks may

have a dome-shaped fixed roof,

a cone-shaped fixed roof, or no

fixed roof (i.e., open at the top).

Floating roof tank

A floating roof is deemed a pollution

prevention measure, in that it prevents

pollutants from being generated rather

than treating pollutants after they have

been generated. Pollution prevention is

generally preferable to vapour treatment,

in that vapour treatment involves a

system to capture and convey vapours

to a control device. The control device

requires energy to operate, and it may

produce secondary emissions as a

result of the vapour treatment process.

For example, if the vapour treatment

process is combustion, then the oxidation

of the organic vapours results in the

emission of combustion products such

as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,

nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides. The

use of a pollution prevention measure

avoids the creation of these secondary

pollutants, and it saves the costs and

energy consumption associated with

operating a vapour control device.

The recent surge in crude oil

production in the US has focused on the

use of hydraulic fracturing to recover oil

and gas from shale plays, such as the

Eagle Ford in Texas, the Bakken in North

Dakota, and the Utica in Ohio. Liquids

produced from these shale plays tend

to be lighter and more volatile than

conventional crude oils. In fact, it is

somewhat arbitrary as to whether these

liquids should be characterised as crude

oil or condensate. For purposes of this

discussion, liquids from these shale plays

shall be referred to as light crude oil.

On the one hand, light crude oils

are advantageous as they are easier to

process than heavy crude oils. On the

other hand, some of these light crude

oils may have a maximum TVP that

approaches the limit for floating roofs of

11.1 psia under certain storage conditions.

TVP from RVP

The conventional method of predicting

the TVP of petroleum liquids is to

extrapolate the TVP from a measurement

of the Reid vapor pressure1 (RVP). RVP

is the vapour pressure measured under

specified laboratory conditions at 38˚C,

whereas TVP is the actual vapour pressure

of the liquid under the given storage

conditions. Thus, while RVP is always

Floating roofs have been demonstrated toachievewellupwardsof90%reduction in storage tank emissions, as long as the stored liquid is not boiling

roofs


Is a floating roof enough for shale oil tanks?


roofs

measured at 38˚C, TVP is determined

for the given storage temperature.

TVP is extrapolated from RVP by

means of correlations that are published

by both API2 and EPA3. The correlation

equations are used to calculate values

for vapour pressure constants A and

B that are then used in a relationship

based on the Clausius-Clapeyron

equation to predict TVP as a function

of temperature. This equation for

predicting TVP is presented as equation

1-24 in EPA’s AP-42 7.1 document:

PV = exp[A – B/(TLA + 459.67)]

where:

PV is the TVP (psia), and

TLA is the average temperature at the

liquid surface (degrees Rankine).

Values for A and B to be used

in this equation are determined

for crude oils from the equations

given in AP-42 7.1 Figure 7.1-16:

A = 12.82 – 0.9672 ln(RVP)

B = 7261 – 1216 ln(RVP)

The reference given in AP-42 for these

equations is Evaporative Loss From Fixed

Roof Tanks, Second Edition, Bulletin 2518,

American Petroleum Institute, Washington,

D.C., October 1991. This reference does

not give a source for these equations,

but similar equations are presented in

the parallel document Evaporative Loss

From External Floating-Roof Tanks, Third

Edition, API Publication 2517, American

Petroleum Institute, Washington, D.C.,

February 1989. API Publication 2517 is the

document cited in EPA regulations4 for the

methodology to determine TVP from RVP.

API Publication 2517, Third Edition, states

that these equations were derived from

a regression analysis of points read off a

nomograph, which is the same nomograph

presented in AP-42 7.1 Figure 7.1-13a. This

nomograph appears in the first edition

of API Bulletin 2518, dated June 1962,

but no source is indicated for it. Thus the

equations for extrapolating TVP from RVP

are derived from a nomograph of unknown

origin that dates back to at least 1962.

Problems with the RVP correlations

The validity of this nomograph has been

questioned from time to time. The California

Air Resources Board (CARB) developed

a correction factor for predicting TVP

from RVP5, on the basis that ‘an error

was discovered in the API nomograph

calculated values of TVP so that the RVP

was not equal to TVP at 38˚C as was

expected given the general definition of

RVP.’6 The CARB correction factor adjusts

the TVP curve such that it reasonably

matches the RVP value at 38˚C.

This CARB correction has not received

much attention outside of California,

perhaps because the adjustment is

relatively inconsequential for conventional

crude oils. AP-42 suggests that a typical RVP

for crude oil is 5 psi. The calculated TVP for

an RVP 5 crude oil at a storage temperature

of 15.5˚C would be 2.2 psia using AP-42, or

2.9 psia using the CARB-corrected value.

However, at higher values of RVP the

difference becomes quite dramatic. The

TVP at 15.5˚C for an RVP 12 crude oil is

9.6 psia using the AP-42 correlations, but

only 4.1 psia using the CARB corrections.

Thus the apparent inaccuracy of the AP-

42 nomographs becomes substantially

more significant for light crude oils

than it is for conventional crude oils.

Comparisons of TVP predictions for an RVP 12 crude oil

Temp (C) Reid AP-42 CARB (corrected)

5 6.9 2.3

10 8.2 3.1

15 9.6 4.1

21 11.2 5.4

27 13.0 7.2

32 14.9 9.4

38 12 17.1 12.2

It appears from Table 1 that the

overstatement of TVP from the AP-42

methodology would wrongly indicate

that an RVP 12 crude oil stored at 21˚C

exceeds the 11.1 psia cutoff for allowing

a floating roof, whereas the CARB

correction indicates the TVP to be only

5.4 psia. The overstatement of TVP by the

AP-42 methodology is thus a significant

issue for the storage of light crude oils.

ProblemswiththeASTMD2879alternative

EPA regulations specify, as an alternative

to the RVP method of ASTM D323, use of

ASTM D28797 to determine TVP. This method

does not involve correlation equations,

in that TVP is directly measured over a

range of temperature in order to establish

the TVP-temperature relationship. ASTM

D2879 has been found to give significantly

lower TVP values than those predicted

by the RVP methodology, but questions

have been raised concerning the validity

of ASTM D2879 for light crude oils.

In order to assure that the TVP measured

by ASTM D2879 excludes the contribution

of dissolved gases such as air, the test

method specifies that the sample shall be

‘degassed’ by ‘gentle boiling.’ In that the

relatively high TVP of these light crude oils is

due to the presence of light ends that may

readily boil, it would seem that the sample is

no longer characteristic of the light crude oil

after undergoing this degassing procedure.

Disproportionate loss of the light ends would

result in understating the TVP of the sample.

More work needed

EPA regulations specify determination of

the TVP for volatile organic liquids either

by measuring the RVP and then predicting

the TVP from correlations given in AP-42,

or by direct measurement of the TVP over

a range of temperatures in accordance

with ASTM D2879. The RVP method has

been shown to grossly overpredict the TVP

of light crude oils, and there is potential

for ASTM D2879 to underpredict the TVP

of light crude oils. There is, then, a need

for improved methodology to determine

the TVP of these light crude oils.

For more information: This article was written by Robert L. Ferry at the TGB Partnership. To hear more Ferry will be leading a Tanks Essentials Training course at this year’s LDAR/BWON/TANKS/FLARES (LBTF) Conference on 19-21 February at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Texas.

1 ASTM D323 – 08, “Standard Test Method for Vapor Pressure of Petroleum Products (Reid Method),” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.

2 American Petroleum Institute, Evaporative Loss Reference Information and Speciation Methodology, Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards chapter 19.4, Third Edition, Washington, D.C., October 2012.

3 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 7.1 “Organic Liquid Storage Tanks,” in Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors, USEPA Report No. AP-42, November 2006.

4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Standards of Performance for Volatile Organic Liquid Storage Vessels (including Petroleum Liquid Storage Vessels) for Which Construction, Reconstruction, or Modification Commenced After July 23, 1984,” 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart Kb, §60.116b(e)(2)(i); also, the definition of maximum true vapor pressure in 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart G, §63.111.

5 State of California Air Resources Board, Technical Support Division, “Technical Guidance Document for the Emission Inventory Criteria and Guidelines Regulation for AB 2588 (Air Toxics “Hot Spots” Information and Assessment Act of 1987),” August 1989. http://www.arb.ca.gov/ab2588/tgd1989.pdf

6 Ibid., 103.

7 ASTM D2879 – 10, “Standard Test Method for Vapor Pressure Temperature Relationship and Initial Decomposition Temperature of Liquids by Isoteniscope,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.

Hear more about this topic at the upcoming LDAR/BWON/Tanks/Flares ConferenceFeb19-21stinAustin,TX

More information at www.lbtfconference.com or [email protected]


Sign up now to receive your FREE weekly newsletter providing up-to-dateinformation on acquisitions, mergers, new terminals and the latest regulations:

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degassing


Making the commitment

The three biggest issues

concerning tank degassing

are: safety, regulatory

compliance and price.

Safety clearly leads

that list, since refineries

and petrochemical plants

are some of the most

technically sophisticated

places on the planet. There

is a zero-tolerance policy

for mistakes and that is

the way it should be.

Price is always part of the

equation since no one has

money to burn; companies

that cannot offer degassing

services at a competitive price

simply will not get the job.

But what about the third

item: regulatory compliance?

As multi-service vendors try

to expand their product

lines with tank cleaning and

vacuum trucks, customers

need to take a closer look

at the compliance record

and experience level of

their potential vendors.

California, for example,

is crisscrossed by multiple air

quality management districts

that protect the health and

safety of area residents. If a

degassing vendor fails to meet

the letter of the law, these

districts will immediately issue

a Notice of Violation (NoV).

Fines and bad publicity are

the last things a facility wants,

and NoVs generate ill will from

the communities surrounding

a facility. Regulators use NoVs

to police the industry, and

they can levy substantial

fines against both the

offending vendor and the

company that hires them.

Air agencies use a

number of tools to confirm

compliance. One of these

tools is a ‘field audit’ that can

confirm actual combustion

chamber temperatures and

compare them with the

chart recorder’s data. Lower

combustion temperatures

(and lower vapour destruction

efficiency) may be allowed by

different districts or states. But

other degassing tasks require

meeting 760ºC to achieve

the specified results. Low

temperature combustion may

result in lower propane costs,

but compliance fines and bad

press are penalties for failing to

ensure that proper combustion

temperatures are used to meet

all regulatory requirements.

The moral of the story is simple:

since degassing is one of the

most dangerous and regulated

procedures in a refinery, it is

important for all vendors to

remain 100% committed to

compliance and safety.

Planning for proper

compliance also means

planning for things that can

go wrong. Air quality districts

and environmental agencies

throughout the US require

degassing operations to be

‘continuous until complete’.

Consider this language from

the Bay Area Air Quality

Management rules and

regulations: ‘If excessive

emissions resulting from the

breakdown of air pollution

abatement equipment or

operating equipment persist

until the end of a production

run or up to 24 hours,

whichever is sooner, a violation

of district regulations shall be

deemed to have occurred.’

Translation: if a thermal

oxidiser breaks down on a

degassing job, the vendor

better have another option

standing by or expect

being served an NoV.

Many plants maintain

their own ‘in house’ vapour

recovery units to handle

assignments such as ship

loading, truck loading, or

tank farm vapour recovery –

and most of these machines

are subject to the same

regulations that govern the

mobile units operated by

independent contractors.

But plants know their in-

house equipment may not

be suited for every job, or

they may not be available

because of scheduled

maintenance. In these

instances, it makes sense to

hire a mobile vendor to handle

a degassing job. But here’s the

catch: operators who pride

themselves on their safety

and operational efficiency

should do their homework and

check if their chosen vendor

shares their commitment to

superior performance.

For more information: This article was written by Chad Fernandes, operations manager for northern California and northwest at Envent, +1 (925) 270-9003 or [email protected]

Since degassing is one of the most dangerous and regulated procedures in a refinery, it’s important for all vendors to remain 100% dedicated to compliance and safety

The growth in environmental

legislation throughout the

world has garnered increasing

interest, or indeed in many

cases a legal requirement, in

the recovery of hydrocarbon

vapours (VOCs) from

storage or the transfer of

products from storage to

carrier and vice versa.

With the growth in the

use of vapour recovery

systems for an ever widening

range of VOC products and

applications, in ever growing

areas of the world, this article

provides an introduction

to some of the key facts

and terms commonly used;

covering typical applications,

the selection of equipment

and vapour recovery

technologies, the need for

accuracy when preparing

the design, achievable

emission rates, practical

recovery efficiencies and

recovered product issues,

such as absorbents to use

and the risks of product

cross contamination.

Vapour recovery system applications

Vapour recovery systems

are used in a number of

applications related with

either the storage of VOC

products or the transfer of

the product from storage

to the carrier or vice-versa,

whether a truck, rail wagon,

ship or barge. Typical products

for which vapour recovery

would be used include the

following (and combinations

of): petrol, diesel, intermediate

products such as naphtha

and condensates, finished

chemicals such as benzene,

toluene and xylenes,

and there has also been

increasingly significant growth

in crude oil applications.

There are a number of

vapour recovery processes

available with proven track

records, each tending to

have its own place in the

market for a particular

range of applications.

Activated carbon adsorption/vacuum regeneration (CVA): In most circumstances the

CVA technology is considered

to be the best available

technology (BAT) for most

applications. The technology

is widely used throughout the

world, across a wide range

of loading operations, from

the smallest of systems, for

example where a single truck

loading spot is used, to the

largest systems in the world.

Two of the three largest

vapour recovery systems in

the world, supplied by oil

and gas equipment supplier

Aker Solutions, use the CVA

technology, with design

vapours flows ranging from

36,000m3/hr up to 45,000m3/hr.

The activated carbon

is used to strip and adsorb

the VOCs from the vapour

stream. Vacuum pumps

are used to regenerate the

activated carbon, stripping

the adsorbed hydrocarbons

from the activated carbon,

the recovered VOCs in most

cases being re-absorbed into

an absorbent stream, usually

the product being loaded/

transferred. Options are

available where an absorbent

is not readily available.

The technology can

operate across a wide

operational turn ratio of 0 to

100% of design. In addition,

operating at ambient

temperatures and low

pressures, the technology

is considered to be safe

which, together with its ability

to attain very low emission

requirements, lead to the BAT

label. Emissions limits readily

attainable range from 35g/

Nm3 to <150mg/Nm3 (97% to

99.9%+ recovery efficiencies).

Lower vent emissions are

feasible although these

requirements may require

some degree of specialist

design and in some cases

a second stage system. It

should be noted that for

products such as benzene

emissions as low as 10mg/

Nm3 are readily achievable.

Absorption technologies: These

include direct absorption,

in which the vapour stream

is directly contacted in an

absorber column with an

absorbent. The process

Vapour recoVery: a glossary of terms

Cold liquid absorption (CLA) vapour recovery system

vapour recovery


may require cooling of the

absorbent or operation at

pressure or a combination

of both, dependent on

the equilibrium conditions

between the vapour

stream and the available

absorbent. The technology is

infrequently used; one of the

greatest drawbacks being

its inability to readily meet,

in many cases, the emission

requirements of several

environmental authorities.

However, there remains

a place in the market

for the technology. Two

recent examples where

there were good reasons

to utilise absorption are two

crude oil systems in marine

loading applications.

The first of these two

systems, operated in Norway,

is the third of the three

largest VRUs in the world

referred to above, with a

total inlet vapour flow rate

of 24,000m3/hr. In this case

the system adopted was a

cold liquid absorption (CLA)

process where space was

a premium on the three

jetties. An absorber was

located at each of the jetties,

the absorbent used being

regenerated/recovered in

a common plant on shore.

The second of the two

applications was a simple

pressurised absorption system,

for which the inlet vapour

conditions combined with the

operating parameters suited

the required emissions. The

primary reason for adoption

of the technology was plot

space and weight, the systems

being in service offshore.

Membrane: Membrane

separation technologies are

also available and used in

vapour recovery applications.

Membrane systems do not

offer the same degree of

operational flexibility as

the activated carbon CVA

systems, often requiring

large vapour holders to be

installed in order to operate

satisfactorily, where constant

vapours flows are not a feature

of the vapour inlet conditions.

For the larger applications

such as marine loading

operations, high power

requirements will often be a

limiting factor for the systems.

Membrane vapour

recovery systems however,

may be a preferred

technology selection for

some chemical VOCs,

which may not be best

suited for use with activated

carbon CVA systems.

Truck Loading: Truck loading

applications for vapour

recovery by far represent the

largest installed base, with

activated carbon CVA forming

the greatest proportion

of technologies used.

Within the EU and the

US long standing specific

emission control legislation

stands, covering the control

of hydrocarbon emissions

for the loading of petrol into

trucks. Emission control limits

and recovery efficiencies tend

to be very good with 35g/

Nm3 to 150mg/Nm3 emissions

expectations (97% to 99.9%+

recovery efficiencies) being

usual requirements. Installed

systems play a significant role

in the reduction of product

losses at the terminals where

used. Payback periods from

the installation of a vapour

recovery system vary,

depending on the bonded

status of the terminal, but

typically periods of less than

one to two years are feasible,

based on the value of the

product recovered that would

have been otherwise lost and

recoverable duty payments,

where this is applicable.

The systems are used in

either loading rack operations

or a balanced vapour system.

For a system in which the

vapours are recovered directly

from the loading racks, the

applications usually arise at

terminals where the product

storage tanks are fitted with

internal floating roofs (IFRs).

A balanced vapour system

is one where the vapour

piping from the loading racks

and the storage tank vents

are manifolded together,

the tanks being of fixed

roof construction. Vapours

displaced during the filling of

the trucks flow back into the

storage tanks as a result of the

product withdrawal during

loading. The vapour recovery

unit is thus designed to handle

only the vapour flows arising

from vapours displaced from

the storage tanks, when being

filled, and the vapour growth

effects from either filling of

the trucks or thermal growth

effects in the storage tanks.

The term ‘loading profile’

is regularly used in the world

of vapour recovery. A loading

profile is the resulting analysis

of how the vapour flow may FSO pressurised absorption VRUs installed

Pressurised absorption VRU system

vapour recovery


Cold liquid absorption vapour recovery system

vapour recovery


vary to a VRU over the course

of a day or loading period and

includes inlet hydrocarbon

concentrations considerations,

in addition to the vapour flows

to the VRU. In marine and tank

filling applications vapour flows

are relatively straightforward

rates, however, for truck

loading operations where

the vapours are recovered

directly back to the VRU,

loading profiles tend to be

somewhat more complex.

To ensure that the vapour

recovery unit is correctly

sized for the application, it

is essential that the loading

profile is correctly determined.

Over sizing would result in

a VRU that has excessive

power requirements, whereas

an undersised VRU runs a

significant risk of: i) higher

emissions limits than permitted,

and/or ii) limiting the loading

operations at the terminal.

In many cases the terminal

operations staff are fully aware

of the loading patterns at

their terminal, in which case a

good loading profile can be

developed. Where this data

is not readily available, at for

example a new build terminal,

there are a number of key

factors that can be used to

develop a good non-limiting

profile and correctly sized

VRU. These would include:

• Number of loading

spots that can be

used simultaneously

• Number of loading arms

that can be simultaneously

used per loading spot

• Maximum liquid flow

rate per loading arm

• Maximum size of the trucks

loaded at the terminal.

Vapour hydrocarbon

concentrations tend to vary

significantly for truck loading

operations, associated

with varying volumes of the

different products loaded,

i.e. petrol versus diesel.

Together,with the loading

profile flow rates, these

parameters can be utilised to

develop very cost effective

vapour recovery systems.

The varying nature of

the vapour stream to the

VRU can also be effectively

utilised to provide the

systems with energy saving

modes of operating the

vapour recovery system.

There are a number of

energy saving modes for

operating a vapour recovery

unit. These include systems

that measure/determine the

volume of product loaded

at the loading racks, starting

the VRU when a volume of

product equivalent to the

design vapour load of a

carbon bed has been loaded.

These volume loaded based

energy saving operating

modes rely on a number of

assumptions, such as the

vapour stream is always a

fully saturated petrol vapour.

Naturally this is not commonly

the case; frequently terminals

load a large proportion

of diesel or other distillate

based fuels. The ambient and

product temperatures also

vary and have a significant

impact of the inlet vapour

concentration flowing to

the VRU. A volume loaded

based energy saving mode of

operation can be improved

on through the use of a vent

hydrocarbon analyser control

scheme. The vent analyser

control system (VACS), when

used as the primary mode of

operation, can save between

40 and 50% of the energy used

where systems are not used.

The VACS system is

more successful than

other forms of energy

saving systems in that

it not only accounts for

variances in not just the

vapour flow to the unit,

but also compensates for

the following situations:

• Variable inlet vapour

concentrations,

as a result of :

- Variable volumes

of petrol/distillate

loading at the

loading racks

- Levels of

switch loading

occurring at the

loading racks

- Variable ambient

temperatures having

a direct impact on the

HC concentration

- Seasonal changes

in the RVP of the

products loaded

• Actual operating

performance of the

carbon bed and the

unit. The unit might not

be operating optimally –

for example, a leak in a

carbon bed regeneration

valve would prevent

the carbon from fully

regenerating impacting on

the VRUs performance.

Rail wagon loading: In many

ways rail wagon loading

is similar to truck loading,

although it is uncommon

for rail wagon loading to

be included in a balanced

vapour system. There tends

to be two common types of

loading utilised: the loading

method utilised impacting the

development of the loading

profile, and the resulting design

of the vapour recovery unit.

On Spot rail loading

systems are commonly used. In

these systems the rail wagons

are moved into place and

loaded, usually one wagon

load at relatively high flows.

Times vary but between three

and four wagons can be

loaded per hour. It is often

found that an On Spot loading

system will support two or more

rail tracks/trains simultaneously.

For these loading systems the

VRU loading profile closely

follows the development

processes used for a

truck loading system.

Other rail loading systems

connect up a number of

rail wagons, loading these

simultaneously. The loading

rates, on a per wagon basis,

tend to be somewhat lower

than for On Spot loading

systems, resulting in longer

uninterrupted loading periods.

In these applications the

loading profiles mimic more

closely those seen in ship

or tank filling applications,

where flows tend to persist at

constant rates for long periods

of time. As with truck loading

applications, the resulting

vapour recovery system for the

two types loading methods will

often result in very differently

sized vapour recovery units.

Ship loading applications: Vapour recovery systems have

been used in bulk petrol ship

loading applications for many

years. The products in which

vapour recovery systems are

utilised recently have widened

to include, most prominently,

products such as crude oil.

In addition the flow rates to

be handled are increasing,

with flows of between

10,000m3/hr and 20,000m3/hr

becoming common requests.

Marine loading vapour

Typical ship loading profile

A typical indication of how the loading profile for a ship/marine loading application may vary throughout a load

vapour recovery


recovery units adopt a

continuous duty loading

profile approach in their

design, that is the flows,

although high, tend to be

steady and continuous for

many hours. However, this

does not detract from the

complexities of understanding

the design. Naturally there

are many challenges in the

construction of large complex

vapour recovery systems. The

most critical point is, however,

understanding the design basis

to be used. Marine loading

operations give rise to high

vapour growth rates, with a

potentially large impact on

the hydraulic design of the

entire vapour recovery system

and stratified hydrocarbon

concentrations in the vessels’

holds, leading to wide ranging

concentrations to from

very lean concentrations

at the start of the loading

operation to fully saturated

vapours at the end.

A detailed knowledge

and the ability to accurately

simulate the loading operation

are essential to accurately

designing a marine vapour

recovery system. As products

become more complex, as

with crude oil, it is not sufficient

to make assumptions about

any aspect of the process

design requirements.

Tankfilling/tankbreathing:The

design of a vapour recovery

system associated with tank

storage, as with ship loading

systems, requires a good

degree of understanding

of the mechanisms which

give rise to the development

of the out breathing of

vapours to the VRU.

Vapour development

can arise from a number of

mechanisms which need

to be accounted for in the

determination of the vapour

flow and VOC concentrations.

Unlike other vapour recovery

applications, it is often the

case that the hydrocarbon

concentrations in the vapour

phase from the tanks will

be fully saturated and will

often fully stress the VRU

design, in terms of flow

and hydrocarbon load.

Vapour out flows from

storage tanks will often result

from the following mechanisms:

1. Displacement emissions arise from the filling

of the tanks.

2. Breathing emissions arise from temperature

changes in the tank,

primarily an increase in

the temperature of the

vapour space, usually as

the tank warms up, for

example from overnight

temperatures to day

time temperatures.

3. Withdrawal emissions arise

from the development

of a vapour growth as

the vapour in the tank

saturates following product

having been withdrawn.

Air drawn in through the

tanks vents over time will

saturate. This causes an

increase in the vapour

air volume and hence

pressure, a vapour growth,

which in turn leads to an

emission from the tank.

Withdrawal emissions would

normally be expected to be

negligible, relative to the other

emission generating factors

and their interrelationships, i.e.

displacement and breathing

emissions. However, where

tanks stand partially empty

for more than a few days,

certainly VOC saturation levels

and withdrawal emission

rates will be impacted by

the dormancy of the tank.

Absorbent: Most vapour

recovery systems require a

circulated absorbent supply

into which the captured

VOCs are recovered. In most

instances the absorbent

would be the same product

as being loaded and usually

drawn from and returned to

one of the storage tanks. For

marine loading operations it is

common for the absorbent to

be drawn from and returned

to the ships’ loading line(s).

As with any aspect

of the vapour recovery

system design, design of the

absorber is critical to the

successful operation of the

VRU. A correctly designed

absorber requires a detailed

knowledge of the vapour

inlet properties, in addition

to the absorbent properties,

to ensure the equilibrium

conditions in the absorber are

conducive to the recovery

of the hydrocarbons. An

incorrect design will result in

a failure of the absorber to

operate efficiently, which

would likely result in the failure

of the overall system to meet

the required emissions.

Options are also available

where absorbents are not

readily available, or where

concerns may occur with

product cross contamination.

The importance that should

be drawn from this is that,

although vapour recovery

packages may be similar,

each application is different

and understanding and

ensuring the design basis to be

correct is critical. It requires an

experienced understanding of

the products being handled,

the mechanisms that result

in the vapour formation

and their properties.

Schematic of absorbent supply options

Petrol marine loading CVA vapour recovery unit

Shipping components 4,000km is an everyday occurrence, butwhenitcomesto39highlyadvanced engineered marine loading arms – each one as big as three articulated lorries end to end and weighing almost 1,500 tonnes in total – there is a logistics challenge.

The arms will form an integral part of the $10 billion (€7.5 billion) expansion plan totherefinerythatisbeingcreated by Abu Dhabi Oil RefiningCompany(TAKREER).

With vast gas and oil reserves, Abu Dhabi has a distinct advantage in the petrochemical sector and as such, the expansion of TAKREER’sRuwaisRefineryinAbu Dhabi forms an integral partoftheoilrefiningindustryin the UAE. Located 240km from Abu Dhabi along the Persian Gulf Coast, the new refinerywillseeanincreasein production of 400,000 bpd when it becomes fully operational this year.

Withtherefineryconfigured

for petrochemical production, featuring a Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) at its heart, this will lead to the production of high value polymer grade propylene, aswellastraditionalrefineryproducts such as LPG, naphtha, jet/kerosene, gasoil and diesel.

The task was to deliver the loading arms from its factory at Kirchhain in Germany to anoilrefineryonthePersianGulf Coast in the UAE.

The shipment, which took more than two years to complete, over 60,000 man hours going into its production, will eventually be placed on three seaport jetties that are currently under construction at Ruwais by main contractor GS Engineering and Construction.

The customer required 13 marine loading arms for each jetty ranging in diameter from 8-16”, weighting more than 40 tonnes and measuring 26m high.

These massive structures had to meet all international

regulatory requirements and standards with each loading arm incorporating advanced safety features combined with pantograph balanced link technology to provide stability and strength.

Following an initial shipment to Abu Dhabi in January 2012, the manufacturer Emco Wheaton completed what was to be one of the single biggest shipments of equipment, in terms of weight and value, in the company’s history on November2012whenthefinalloading arms we shipped.

‘In terms of the scale of what we were transporting from our production centre in Germany, this was a big shipment of 24 MLAs equivalenttoaround920tonnes of metal,’ says Brian Armitage, director of supply chain management.

Intotal,39MLAsweresplitinto three shipments over a 12 month period along with more than 20 containers holding

couplers, emergency release systems, electro-hydraulic controls and complete loading systems for the state-of-the-art jetty facility.

Emco Wheaton built the individual parts of the loading arms at different centres across Germany and Italy.

These then had to be moved from the production centres to Hamburg. This logistical juggling act included moving the parts at night which required special permits and coordination with the German highways agency and police authorities.

But it wasn’t just by road; the canal system in Germany was also used to transport the larger MLAs with three loaded on each barge. Upon arrival in Hamburg, heavy lifting equipment was used to safely load the equipment onto the ship. The overall operation ran smoothly and the ship, M/V Leopold Staff, sailed from Hamburg, heading for the Middle East on schedule.

Logistics soLution

for marine loading arms holds key to refinery expansion

Picture caption to come

loading


secondary containment

Flint Hill Resources’ (FHR)

petrochemicals are used to

manufacture goods from

plastics to building products

to packaging materials;

and it produces about 9

billion pounds of building-

block chemicals annually.

These chemicals,

usually highly abrasive, are

regularly stored in tanks

and must use appropriate

lining to prevent leakage.

Tank owners typically defer

to using HDPE liners despite

understanding its limitations

(i.e. cannot handle high

temperatures, does not have

high chemical resistance and

does not provide dimensional

stability). Their preference

is due to a combination of

the product’s cost, a certain

level of chemical resistance

and its fairly competent

constructability. Historically,

it has been known as one of

the only options available.

The chemical resistance

of the HDPE liner, however, is

simply not sufficient to contain

benzene/reformate. As a result

of this and other problems that

occurred as a result of using

HDPE, FHR decided to conduct

a risk assessment. Use of liners

for these types of chemicals

is regulated and HDPE would

certainly have met them; but

after the assessment, corporate

due diligence dictated

the use of a better liner.

Not having a clear idea

of which company could

provide a liner that would

meet its requirements, FHR

turned to its tank maintenance

contractor, who suggested

their engineering consultant

contact EnviroCon Systems.

EnviroCon specialises in

the supply and installation

of geosynthetic liners for

environmental, industrial,

architectural, commercial

and agricultural uses. They

also provide a variety of

applications for primary and

secondary containment. Chris

Swires, principal at EnviroCon

Systems and who also served

as project manager in this task,

referred them to Cooley Group.

Rhode Island-based Cooley

Group is a global developer

and manufacturer of high-

performance, sustainable

engineered membranes. The

engineered membranes division

produces the polyvinylidene

fluoride-formulated

(PVDF) Coolshield liner.

This is generally used in

applications requiring the

highest purity, strength and

resistance to solvents, acids

and harsh chemicals. It is 100%

resistant to benzene (it is the

only flexible liner resistant to

it) and the only rollgood-type

PVDF liner on the market,

which allows it to survive the

installation procedure that most

other liners – whether resistant

to benzene or not – cannot.

Searching for a liner resistant to benzene

Detail extrusion-welding of Cooley Group’s Coolshield liner in tank sump

Existing (unlined) steel tank floor and sump

When Flint Hills Resources set out to refurbish a tank that would hold benzene/reformate, the company quickly realised it needed a secondary containment liner that was resistant to the chemical




Tank refurbishment

As tanks become older, the

tank bottoms age and, unless

they are refurbished, they can

eventually leak. When they

leak, there is a huge expense in

cleanup and, most likely, fines.

In March 2010 FHR started

a tank-bottom retrofit, where

a secondary containment

liner was to be installed over

an existing tank floor before

a new one was installed.

Stephen Siener, general

manager of Cooley’s

engineered membranes

division, explains: ‘FHR had

experienced an issue before

where a more conventional

HDPE liner failed in a similar

application, resulting in

substantial remediation

and cleanup costs.’

The Coolshield liner is a

flexible rollgood (not plate

stock), which means it is not

only easy to transport but also

easy to install on-site. Largely

due to this feature, FHR was

able to meet the schedule from

an installation and construction

standpoint. There were no issues

with mechanical damage,

which is typically the problem

when a liner with sufficiently

heavy resistance is used.

An unexpected discovery

was the ease in which the

Coolshield liner was installed in

the field. In addition to taking

about the same time to install

as HDPE, the material’s physical

properties also ensured it was

capable of withstanding all

the subsequent construction

activities performed adjacent

to it. ‘There was really no

downtime involved. The relative

ease of field installation was

a very important factor,’ says

Swires. ‘While many companies

make similar, very thin Teflon

or PVDF liners, they can’t

be welded in the field and

they lack important physical

properties like sufficient

abrasion resistance.’

Based on the success of

the first installation, as well as

Cooley’s technical guidance

and product support, FHR

specified the use of Coolshield

for its next series of similar

tank refurbishing projects.

Cost

Among the reasons HDPE has

historically been the liner of

choice is that it tends to be

the least expensive option that

can withstand the majority of

liner jobs. On the other hand,

while there are existing products

in the market that may meet

a high chemical resistance

requirement, most are far too

delicate for the demanding

installation procedure this type

of project entails. Stainless

steel, for example, is a high-

priced alternative and used to

be the next best option when

handling very harsh chemicals.

Coolshield is significantly less

expensive than using stainless

steel. The Cooley membrane

is also much faster to install.

‘In the long run, the

Coolshield membrane is

actually more economical

as it is far more resistant than

most other liners and can

withstand harsher conditions

than HDPE,’ says Ray Peebles,

global sales manager

for Cooley’s engineered

membranes division.

FHR found that no other

company offered a more

constructible geosynthetic liner

that matched Coolshield’s

chemical and high-temperature

resistance. ‘Cooley Group was

the only company able to

provide a geomembrane liner

resistant to benzene/reformate

that was durable enough to

be deployed and welded

in the field using industry-

standard welding and testing

techniques,’ explains Swires,

who managed the project.

Despite the higher cost

of the Coolshield material,

the savings from avoiding

remediation and cleanup

from a failed conventional

liner made these tank projects

more economically viable.

The chemistry

Cooley’s PVDF formulation

is a fluorinated, semi-

crystalline thermoplastic

polymer obtained by radical

polymerisation of vinylidene

fluoride, making Coolshield

among the most chemically

inert of all polymers. This is

a direct result of the unique

chemical structure of

fluoropolymers, which differs

significantly from the structure

of traditional polymers such

as polyethylene. The exclusive

extrusion-laminated, PVDF

resin coating on select

substrates provides high-

tensile strength and excellent

chemical resistance even

at high temperatures.

‘For any kind of project

where aggressive chemicals

or high temperatures are

involved, and applications

where liners had to be ruled out

as an option, the Coolshield

geomembrane liner can now

be used,’ says Peebles.

An added advantage

to PVDF is it has very high

temperature resistance

to intermittent as well as

continuous temperatures.

Coolshield has been used

as a pit liner due to both,

its chemical resistance and

also its ability to withstand

121°C continuously and 135°C

intermittently. ‘This is one of the

chief reasons it has been used

on several occasions in the oil

sands drilling applications in

northern Canada. During the

oil sand drilling, steam is used

to get the oil to flow and there

are waste products that could

possibly spill,’ adds Siener.

Coolshield is UV- and flame-

resistant, as well as resistant

to high abrasion and highly

aggressive chemicals.

For more information: This article was written by Stephen A. Siener, VP of Cooley Group’s engineered membranes division, www.cooleygroup.com

Calibrating fusion welder for Coolshield liner installation

EnviroCon Systems performing non-destructive spark test of Coolshield extrusion weld

Though it would be virtually impossible

to determine the exact number of

aboveground storage tanks that are

located at the bulk storage facilities

that dot the US landscape – the API puts

the number somewhere in the range

of 700,000 – it is safe to say that they

play a critical role in the storage and

transfer of any number of commodities.

Hand in hand with this legion of vertical

ASTs, which generally range in storage

capacity from 500 to 300,000 barrels,

or 21,000 to 12.6 million gallons, are the

vessels – be they ocean-going ship, barge,

railcar or truck – that are used to deliver

these commodities to, or take them

away from, the liquid-storage facility.

From the most basic building-block

chemical to the highest refined motor fuel,

all would have spent some time being

transferred into or out of a storage tank at

a bulk storage facility. That is millions and

millions of gallons of liquids, many of which

can be hazardous, that are constantly on

the move, and all of this transfer activity

creates myriad opportunities for unwanted

spills, leaks or loss of product containment.

Since the 1960s, ‘environmental

protection’ has been a catchphrase

used by individuals or groups that wish to

minimise the adverse effects that human

activity can have on the environment.

Protecting the environment and

optimising the health and safety of the

planet’s residents is an admirable goal,

and one that the bulk storage industry

embraces. Still, by its very nature, there

is always the chance that an amount of

product will be released while it is being

handled, especially when transferred

from a ship, barge, railcar or transport

truck to a storage tank, or vice versa.

With responsible business practices,

as well as increased regulatory and

environmental regulations, mandating

that the connections for the transfer of

industrial liquids into and out of liquid bulk

storage facilities be able to safely prevent

potentially harmful product releases, there

is a need for liquid handling equipment

that can help prevent costly environment-

or personnel-harming release incidents.

The challenge

With the sheer amount of industrial

liquids constantly in motion there are

any number of points in the supply chain

where things can go wrong. One constant

concern is that a pull-away incident

How to avoid breaking the supply chain


OPW Engineered Systems developed the NTS-PU Series Safety Breakaway Couplings as an additional safety device to protect the vehicle and piping in the event of a pull-away incident

loading

loading

will occur during a transfer operation.

When a pull-away – which takes

place when a truck, railcar, barge or ship

leaves a docking site before the transfer

hoses are disconnected from it – occurs

the consequences for the facility itself,

plant personnel and the environment

can be catastrophic. In fact, the best

result that can be expected when a

pull-away incident occurs is damage to

the transport, piping, support structures or

access equipment. While that sounds bad,

it pales in comparison to the worst things

that can happen, including a severe

environmental release, fire and personal

injury (up to and including death).

The adverse effects associated

with a pull-away incident are not only

immediate, but can be far-reaching, not

to mention the cleanup costs that can be

incurred. In addition to actual litigation or

cleanup costs, another consideration is

the bad publicity and subsequent harm

to the bulk storage facility’s reputation

that can result from a high profile

environmental or personal injury incident.

The overriding challenge for the

producers, handlers and transporters

of industrial liquids is to do the best

they can to eliminate or minimise risks

in their operations. The only way to

do this is identify the best companies

and systems, ones that can deliver the

most effective and

reliable performance

in bulk liquid handling

operations.

The solution

A specialist in this area,

OPW, has launched

the NTS-PU Series Safety

Breakaway Coupling,

which has been

designed to protect

bulk storage facilities

and their product

transfer operations

by safely and reliably

preventing product

spills when a pull-away

incident occurs.

Should the transport

vessel pull away from

a transfer point while

the hose is still attached

separation will occur

courtesy of a simple

straight or angular pulling force on the

hose line. That is because the NTS-PU

coupling consists of two halves that are

each equipped with spring-loaded non-

return valves that are held together by

spring-loaded cams for rapid hookup.

When a pre-determined pulling force

is reached, separation will occur.

Upon separation, both spring-loaded

valves – which are open during product

transfer – will close, which prevents any

product spill or leakage from occurring

while simultaneously protecting the

environment, the loading station and any

personnel that may be in the vicinity.

Since OPW has designed the NTS-PU

coupling without shear pins, no destruction

or damage will occur to the coupling

during separation. This also means that

after depressurising and emptying the

hose, the coupling can be reassembled

without the need of any special tools or

spare parts. This operation also means that

it is easy for the operator to test and verify

that the system is operating properly.

OPW also offers the NTS-SZ Series Safety

Breakaway Coupling. The NTS-SZ model

features cable-release operation

that is designed to protect against

unintended liquid-transport pull-

aways. When a pull-away occurs,

the tensile force travels along the

cable, leaving the hose or loading

arm tension-free at all times. When

the pre-determined pull force is

reached, the couplings spring-

loaded valves shut both ends,

enabling separation to occur.

For more information: This article was written by Dave Morrow, product manager for OPW Engineered Systems, +1 (513) 305-2059 or [email protected]

In addition to transport loading applications, the NTS-PU Series Safety Breakaway Couplings (above) can be installed for railcar applications as well

The NTS-PU Series Safety Breakaway Couplings from OPW installed at a storage terminal loading application



A recent report from the Port

of Los Angeles (POLA) to

the city’s Board of Harbour

Commissioners says work is set

to start on over $100 million

(€77 million) in construction,

repair and upgrades to

marine oil terminals in order

to comply with California’s

Marine Oil Terminal Engineering

and Maintenance Standards

(MOTEMS) programme.

In fact projects accounting

for more than $1 billion in

construction are slated to

continue at POLA into 2013, as

the port strives to keep pace

with its rapidly expanding

international business. Many

of the oil terminals, however,

remain dated and ‘high risk’.

Statewide, more than half of the

marine oil terminals are 70-plus

years old, and POLA has some

of California’s oldest facilities.

In fact, six of the seven at

POLA were built between 1919

and 1923. The port’s ‘newest’

terminal dates back to 1938.

POLA serves the densest

population centre in North

America. With the neighbouring

Port of Long Beach it handles

60% of all waterborne imports

from Asia, a trade corridor

that continues to grow.

Los Angeles’ (LA) vast

collection of oil terminals,

natural gas storage tanks and

surrounding refineries make it

an important global trade and

distribution link. For instance,

Los Angeles International

Airport buys almost all of its

fuel from Vopak, the top liquid

bulk wholesaler at POLA, and

the terminal infrastructure

here plays a large role in

local bunker fuel needs.

Though officials say there

is no serious danger looming,

because of LA’s history of

earthquakes and pollution, the

port remains heavily scrutinised

and regulated. MOTEMS is

among the protocols and

laws oil terminals must adhere

to, becoming law in 2006. But

many terminals in the state,

and at the port specifically,

remain ‘high risk’ and have

not completed the process

of complying with MOTEMS.

The 25 October report from

POLA staff to the Board Of

Harbour Commissioners outlines

the MOTEMS Implementation

Strategy (MIS) estimated

to cost nearly $100 million

over the next three years.

But lease uncertainties with

terminal operators like Vopak,

the age of the marine oil

infrastructure at the port and

continued amendments to

the programme’s final rules

have made the situation more

pressing. There has been some

public outcry, especially among

neighbourhoods near the port,

that POLA’s marine terminals

rating of 4.1 out of 10 on a

MOTEMS compliance scale is a

‘disaster waiting to happen’.

For one, some of LA’s

oil terminals sit on wharves

supported by wooden pilings

– construction not used today

when berthed tankers are at

least 10 times heavier than

their predecessors from the

1920s. Some sections of the

docks are in such disrepair that

they are not in use. ‘There are

ways to reduce risk,’ says Don

Hermansson of the California

The Port of Los Angeles is a flurry of activity as pressure intensifies to upgrade and repair oil terminals, some of which have been labelled ‘high risk’ by California state officials

by Nicholas Zeman

Hig

H R

isk

upg

Ra

des

upgrade

upgrade


State Lands Commission,

administrator of the MOTEMS

programme. ‘The risk of a spill

is not based on the terminals

themselves but on the amount

of oil on deck at a given time.

Installing segmented pipes with

check valves or incorporating

more advanced seismic

engineering can reduce risk.’

Complicated negotiations

California has become

notorious for regulatory

burdens including the

California Environmental

Quality Act, National

Environmental Policy Act and

the California Coastal Act,

which influence the conditions

and cost of construction

and repair projects.

Sandra Burkhart of the

Western State’s Petroluem

Association says that there

has been a lot of ‘angst’

with members over the costs

associated with MOTEMS

compliance: ‘There has been

a number of delays that

have added to the anxiety as

state officials quibbled over

the final rule of MOTEMS for

years. I’ve only been here

a year and I kept hearing

about MOTEMS, it just kept

popping up as something that

was going to be difficult.’

Leasing negotiations have

also been a problem. POLA

chief harbour engineer Tony

Gioiello says the port has

needed to revamp its facilities

and operations to remain

competitive in the realm of

international commerce, and

negotiations to finalise an MIS

are part of the overall growth

strategy: ‘Recently, the last $7.5

million has been approved for

one of the long projects that

has been on hiatus, 53 feet

of deepening for the main

navigational channels and

basins. The majority of it will be

done by the end of the year.

‘The ships are certainly

bigger, so we knew that we

needed to handle deeper

ships. We’re spending

almost $1 million per day

over the next three years

on construction, upgrading

and maintenance. We have

an aggressive strategy to

update our terminals, but

part of the problem has been

that we are at the end of

our lease agreements with

several of the operators.’

Vopak, which occupies

the leading fuel wholesaler

position here, supports several

crucial businesses in LA. At

Vopak, approximately 1.6

million barrels of 2. 4 million

barrel storage capacity

is dedicated to bunker

fuels which are used to

fuel container and other

large cargo ships in the San

Pedro Bay. It represents the

only large-scale bunker

storage facility there so

San Pedro Bay’s bunker

fuels market is dependent

on Vopak’s operations.

The port certainly does not

want to lose Vopak’s business,

but again lease negotiations

under MOTEMS have been

problematic. Vopak had

argued that the port’s MIS is

financially unfeasible. ‘Based

on its financial analysis, a

capital investment ranging

from $150 to $200 million

would require a storage rate

increase of 20-45%, but the

bunker fuels market will not

support such rate hikes,’

POLA says. ‘Understanding

these issues, Vopak has

stated it would not pursue

this proposed development

and would instead cease

operations in the Port when

its current lease expired.

‘Based on Vopak’s

considerable existing

investments in pipelines and

storage tanks outside of its

marine oil terminal, it is even

less likely a new operator

with no existing assets and no

contracted business could

be successful considering the

required investment to enter

the market,’ the port adds,

eventually conceding to

Vopak’s arguments. Vopak’s

alternative proposal, however,

costing nearly $300 million less

than the original plan, was

incorporated into POLA’s final

MOTEMS compliance strategy.

But some business has

been lost. In November,

Plains All American (PAA)

Pipeline, represented

by WSPA, announced its

determination not to proceed

with the development

of its Pier 400 project.

‘Since inheriting the Pier

400 project in connection

with the acquisition of Pacific

Energy Partners in late 2006,

we have invested significant

time and capital working

through the regulatory process

and negotiating with a variety

of potential customers, while

also re-engineering the

project to meet environmental

requirements and adapt

to the changing needs of

potential customers,’ PAA

says. ‘A number of factors

contributed to the uncertainty

with respect to financial returns

and the determination not

to proceed with the project,

including project delays,

the economic downturn,

regulatory and permitting

hurdles, a challenging refining

environment in California

and an industry shift in the

outlook for availability of

domestic crude oil.’

‘Though I don’t know the

specific monetary impact

to the industry, I have found

that any new regulation or

amendment, especially in

California, typically won’t

decrease the cost of doing

business. Therefore, though

we appreciate California

State Lands staff incorporating

WSPA’s comments into

the final MOTEMS rules,

this regulation is going to

have a negative impact on

industry,’ Burkhart says.

Closing the deal

Much of the cost associated

with the $100 million MIS is

for new tank construction

POLA believes, so there

is an opportunity for tank

builders to assist the port in

building out and updating

its storage infrastructure.

Tank cleaning and

maintenance, coatings and

anti-corrosion applications,

engineering services and

other items of MOTEMS will

all be addressed as Vopak,

Exxon Mobil and the POLA

upgrade their assets to bring

them into compliance.

The port has eight liquid

bulk facilities comprising a

total of 114 acres to handle

various types of commodities,

both for import and export.

MOTEMS is designed to reduce

the needs for the port’s capital

investment by consolidating

operations and reducing the

number of berths that need

to be upgraded for MOTEMS

compliance. The port currently

has the capacity to handle

over 124 million barrels per

year, but projected throughput

through 2025 is estimated

near 106 million gallons. That

means the port will invest

only in those berths that

are needed to support the

projected capacity. Under

the revised MIS, POLA plans to

invest $7.5 million each in four

berths at marine oil terminals.

Nevertheless, the port

made several concessions

to Vopak under its revised

MIS plan, mostly to allow

the company the flexibility

to handle and store various

petroleum products. California

Much of the cost associated with the $100 million MIS is for new tank construction, so there is an opportunity for tank builders to assist the port in building out and updating its storage infrastructure

upgrade


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Energy Commission is

forecasting greater receipts of

waterborne ethanol volumes

and the potential of greater

exports of petrol grades that

cannot be utilised in the state.

As both of these commodities

have low flash points, and

are therefore dangerous, it is

anticipated that Vopak would

be limited in handling and

storing these commodities at

their existing marine facilities

due to hazardous footprint

overlap with the adjacent

public access recreational

areas. ‘This restriction would

be a significant competitive

limitation for Vopak, but

relocating would remove

the land use conflicts,’

said a POLA report to

the Los Angeles Board of

Harbour Commissioners.

In addition, the state made

concessions to the industry

at large. ‘We submitted

comments during the last

amendment cycle and we

pretty much got everything

we asked for,’ Burkhart says.

‘One area of concern was

stipulations that would have

made certain maintenance,

upgrades or repairs to a facility

change its classification. We

couldn’t have that happen.

Facilities that are classified as

‘new’ are much more heavily

regulated. Now, after years of

amendments, the final rules

were approved by the State

Land Commission (SLC) on

5 December, and are now

waiting for approval from the

building commission before it is

effective January 2014. ‘We’re

pleased with it,’ Burkhart says.

The bottom line for all

concerned is that these

terminals are fit for the

purpose for which they were

intended. ‘These terminals

feed the refineries and they

feed our appetite for oil, so

it’s important to improve them

to comply with MOTEMS,’

Hermansson says. ‘The

terminals are aging and some

of them are quite old, so they

need to be brought up to date

to lessen the risk to the public.

Also, you have to remember

that the tankers now hold up

to 1 million barrels and when

these terminals were built

tankers held 50,000 barrels.

‘We have to ensure the

mooring equipment and the

structures themselves are

capable of handling some

of these loads. They are also

more fully laden than they

have been in the past. No

one at the SLC is trying to

tell the port how to run its

business and no one would

attempt to do so. And I

don’t want to imply that the

port is not doing anything,’

Hermansson adds. ‘They are

engaged in a considerable

amount of construction and

rehabilitation. There are a

lot of improvements going

on but we want it to temper

expansion with the proper

standards and codes for

mooring, berthing, structure

and seismic events.

‘Despite the problems with

delays, we think everyone is

trying to do the right thing.

The leasing issues involved

have been difficult to resolve.

Ultimately, Vopak’s alternative

to the port’s MIS plan that

was incorporated to the

final proposal. They took

a look at what Vopak was

proposing and the two sides

came to an agreement,’

Hermansson concludes. ‘I

think they came up with a

strategy that is amenable to

both sides. This is good news

because there looks like now

there can be a deal.’

page header


Loading systems that can go with the flow of progress and are ready when you are. That’s the value of OPW.

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opwes-tank-storage-fp-jan.indd 1 1/10/13 3:37 PM

page header

covering

all angleS:


March 12

15th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANK CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

March 13-15, 2013

FREE Trade Show

Orlando, Florida

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At NISTM 2013 independent and major terminal operators, manufacturers and suppliers

will come together to redefine strategic vision and technical requirements for tomorrows’

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March 12, 2013 8:30pm – 10:00pm

March 13, 2013 5:30pm

March 13, 2013 8:15am – 5:30pm

March 14, 2013 8:30am – 5:00pm

March 15, 20138:30am - 12:15pm

March 13, 2013 8:00am – 5:30pm

March 14, 2013 8:00am – 3:00pm

Welcome Reception:Tuesday

Cocktail Mixer:Wednesday

Conference Hours:Wednesday

Thursday

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FREE Trade Show:Wednesday

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March 12, 20138:00am – 5:00pm

March 12, 20138:30am – 4:30pm

March 11, 201312:00pm – 6:00pm

March 12, 2013

8:00am – 5:00pm

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

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NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STORAGE TANK MANAGEMENTNISTM

Secondary containment at a

storage terminal is one thing,

proving that it is adequate

enough to comply with the

relevant API standard is

another.

A terminal

operator based

in Texas, US was faced

with this challenge with

an upcoming audit. The

problem was that site plans

did not exist for most of the

tanks and containments,

and what plans did exist

were unreliable, outdated,

or simply did not contain

any relevant information.

The owner wanted to get

as accurate a map as possible

without blowing the budget.

The volumetric calculations

would be used in conjunction

with other variables, such as

above-average rainfall and

tank areas and volumes,

to determine the actual

containment capacity of

each individual area.

Maintaining accuracy

during this task was

complicated by the existence

of past construction activities

within the confines of the


dikes throughout the storage

facility. Useful containment

volume had been displaced

by the added equipment,

pipe racks and supports,

supply and return piping,

as well as intermediate

fire-berms in some cases.

While all these items

are necessary for safety

and maximising each

tank’s efficiency, each item

occupies space and thus

displaces useful containment

volume. Volume displaced

by anything except the

tanks and containment

dikes themselves is referred

to herein as ‘deadwood’.

The terminal operator

approached civil engineering

and mapping firm Meridian

Associates to provide

topographic plans and

documentation for 100+ tanks

and its respective secondary

containment areas.

High-definition laser

scanning, commonly referred

to as scanning, is a method of

three-dimensional (3D) surface

documentation. The scans, in

this case study, were collected

using a Leica HDS C10 laser

scanner, a measurement

instrument that records the

distance to all visible surfaces

using a laser, recording the

data as points. The deadwood

calculations were a major

factor in the decision to utilise

laser scanning to capture

the data, as the owner

maintained that the means

of measuring net volumetric

capacity should account

for the loss of secondary

containment volume by

deadwood, as well as loss by

the tanks and intermediate

fire-berms themselves.

It would also be most

beneficial if the high and low

points of the containment

areas were accounted for,

rather than simply calculating

volumes using an average

assumed floor elevation

which may not account

for subtle containment

volume gains and losses.

Project planning and execution

Alternative options for

collecting the data included

using land survey practices

with either a global

positioning unit (GPS) or a

conventional survey crew

utilising a total station. Using

this methodology would have

tasked the field crew with a

daunting prospect. After all,

covering

all angleS:

How one terminal combined GPS and laser scanning for a comprehensive insight into the facility’s containment capacity

Aerial isometric view of actual point cloud depicting congested containment area

Actual laser scan image from software




capturing the subtleties of

each containment dike, tank

and deadwood by area for

100+ tanks could have taken

the better part of a year.

In light of this, Meridian

decided to use laser scanning,

which provided many

competitive advantages,

including expediency,

accuracy and unrivaled

point density. Laser scanning

alone, however, did not

provide Meridian with sufficient

redundancy in its data.

It was therefore decided

to incorporate a hybrid

approach, using a survey-

grade GPS system to control

the site and laser scans, thus

tying all of the scan data onto

a known plant-coordinate

system. GPS also served as a

means of providing redundant

measurements and establishing

a site-wide control network

in the form of benchmarks

tied into the existing plant

coordinate system.

High-definition laser

scanning provided another

critical advantage by ensuring

the ability to determine the

single lowest point on any

given containment dike or

intermediate berm. As is the

case in many tank storage

facilities, a good percentage

of the individual tank

secondary containments were

designed to spill into adjacent

tank’s containment areas,

thus increasing the capacity

of each containment area.

The fact that this was an

intentional design feature

required Meridian to be able

to determine with accuracy

the location of the ‘lowest

point of top of containment

dike’, referred to herein as

the ‘spillover point’. The

location of this spillover point

was critical in validating that

a single tank’s secondary

containment volume may

include one or more adjacent

tank’s secondary containment

area, generously increasing

the containment capacity.

In the end, the hybrid

approach to data collection

was successful in capturing

the necessary data to satisfy

the contract and the owner,

as well as to ensure accuracy

of data. GPS provided the

owner with a thorough site

control network in the form of

benchmarks, which, while it

was not the primary intention of

the fieldwork, was a useful by-

product of the data capture

itself. GPS also provided

redundant measurements on

tank foundation elevations and

top of berm elevations, as well

as topographic measurements.

The laser scans provided

a wealth of data quickly and

effectively, simultaneously

maintaining the highest

possible level of accuracy.

It also ensured the survey

captured the nuances of the

containment areas, berms

and deadwood, helping to

provide exceptional precision

in volumetric calculations.

Project deliverables

Meridian was tasked with

providing the owner with

volumetric calculations. This

method of reporting that data

is subjective. Reporting the

data in a manner that made

sense to the client was a

challenge given the complexity

and size of the data set, and

the fact that the secondary

containment areas and tanks

were spread out over five sites,

some being 30 miles apart.

Meridian ultimately decided

on another hybrid approach,

providing the volumetric data

in the form of a spreadsheet,

and the planimetric and

topographic information in

the form of a CAD model

depicting the data as 3D solids.

While the volumetric data

was reported in spreadsheet

format with columns and rows

reporting tanks’ ID numbers,

gross containment volumes,

individual tank volumes,

deadwood volumes and

the secondary containment

volumes themselves,

reporting the planimetric

and topographic data

required the data to be made

3D rendered CAD model generated using laser scan point cloud data depicting deadwood

3D rendered CAD model generated using laser scan point cloud data

3D rendered CAD model generated using laser scan point cloud data



compatible with the AutoCAD

2011 3D programme.

Laser scanning data by

its very nature and purpose

is dense. Thus, the data

contained vast amounts of

information that takes up a lot

of space. The total data set for

the 100+ tanks and secondary

containment areas was

approximately 150GB. While

the laser scan point cloud

data can be explored natively

in various CAD programmes,

it was not efficient in this case

to load all the data on every

machine being used by the

owner’s resident engineers.

It would be more efficient for

the cloud data to be stored

in a central location in the

owner’s system, accessed by

a select few persons, including

the project manager.

Central storage was

possible with the creation

of the CAD 3D solid surface

models which could be

easily shared among the

team. The cloud data was

used to generate 3D solids

depicting deadwood, tanks

and the containment surfaces

themselves. The 3D solid CAD

elements were used in the

calculation of displacement

volumes in the case of the

tanks and the deadwood,

and the surface solids were

used to calculate the gross

volumetric containment

volumes inside the designated

containment dikes.

Using this methodology,

no time was wasted as the

required 3D CAD models

helped to calculate

and report the required

volumetric information.

Also, since the scan data

recorded the subtleties of

the containment dikes and

floors of the containment

areas, the resultant 3D solid

surface model was very

efficient accounting for

the low and high points of

each containment area that

may have been overlooked

using another method.

Outcome of the project

The data for the 100+ tanks

was collected and reported

in about 10 weeks from

procurement to project

data delivery. Typically,

design engineering is the

first to benefit from this

comprehensive and accurate

set of data. In a 3D work flow,

models can be developed,

demolition planned, new

pipe routes scoped out and

utility service tie-ins planned,

all without stepping foot

back in the plant once the

data is collected. Using laser

scanning in a conventional

2D workflow, plans, elevations

and sections can be

developed from an almost

infinite number of positions.

A further benefit of laser

scanning is its use for design,

construction and trade

coordination as it provides

a complete and accurate

picture of the facility.

Providing accurate data

in a timely manner without

interfering with critical path

construction schedules is vital

to the efficient and cost-

effective execution of any

project and is the mainstay

of ‘scanning’ practice.

For more information: This article was written by Andrew P. Titcomb, Meridian Associates, +1 (281) 905-0396 www.meridian-3D.com

Beverly, MA Westborough, MA Cherry Hill, NJ Reidsville, NC Houston, TX Chandler, AZ [email protected] (800) 466-5505 Meridian-3D.com

Accuracy Matters

Making informed decisions about asset conditions is critical to your success and the safety of your facility and people. Meridian Associates’ 3D laser scanning, customized and proprietary data processing, 3D modeling and reporting services provide you with rich, highly detailed information on your assets. Our 3D laser scanning services for tank inspection and structural deformation analysis offer many benefits:

Don’t wait until a problem arises. Contact Meridian Associates to learn more.

Radial intensity map identifies areas of concern

Fast & Complete

Accurate to +/- 3mm

Rich in data point density – Millions of points/tank

Cost effective and high return on investment

LASER SCANNING MODELING ANALYSIS

page header

good news all round


33RD ANNUALInternational Operating Conference & Trade Show

SAVE THE DATEJUNE 3-5, 2013

[email protected] | +1-703-875-2011 | www.ilta.org

Hilton Americas-HoustonGeorge R. Brown Convention CenterHOUSTON, TEXAS

124B_Ad_LNG_Save_4c_210x297_Spring.indd 1 1/8/13 12:52 PM

good news all round

The important take home from

last year’s Tank Storage Asia

Conference in Singapore is

that demand for capacity in the

region is very much on the up.

One reason for this is

that there is planned refining

capacity of 6.5 million barrels a

day. On top of this Asia is a net

importer of naphtha and fuel

oil and a net exporter of petrol,

diesel and kerosene, which

leads to product imbalances

that require storage.

Asia is at the forefront of

global oil demand growth, with

China a clear leader with strong

growth in diesel and petrol.

Onur Capan, manager

of downstream oil service at

Wood Mackenzie, added to

the positivity by saying that

there have been increasingly

attractive rental rates in

Singapore over the past few

years and these are likely to

remain robust in the longt-erm.

China: what everyone’s talking about

Taking a closer look at

that growth in China Karl

Sanders, senior consultant

at Downstream BV, gave his

opinions based on his travels

to virtually every maritime

location in China, including

Jiangsu, Ningbo, Guangzhou,

Dalian and Shanghai.

In the past oil storage was

the exclusive playground of

the Chinese majors. This may

change to a certain degree

with some independent

operators and traders

appearing. However for the

time it is still a very fragmented

business. The consolidation

that was expected has not yet

taken place and there is still a

clear separation between oil

and chemical terminals with

the foreign companies mainly

focusing on the latter so far.

Sanders highlighted

some important long-

term trends: that China

will continue to build more

refineries, grow consumption

in double digit figures and

improve strategic storage.

All this leads to a continued

boom for the storage sector,

although regulations are

becoming stricter after

several recent incidents.

Other challenges of

working in China include

a lack of trained operators

and employees, potential

corruption and the fact that

domestic companies often

outperform foreign operators.

North China is now

developing the fastest, but still

has a way to go and therefore

provides opportunities on a

larger scale than other areas.

Major developments

will be in oil and major new

development areas but

opportunities in secondary

chemical terminals

may be worthwhile.

Malaysia: still a hot topic

At last year Tank Storage Asia,

Malaysian marine construction

firm Benalec Holdings

announced a partnership with

project management company

Rotary Engineering to develop

an independent deepwater

storage terminal for oil products

in Tanjung Piai, southwest Johor.

This year Brian Mak,

Benalec business development

manager, returned to

update delegates on the

progress made so far.

The terminal has an initial

capacity of 1 million m3,

with subsequent phases to

increase capacity to 3 million

m3. This is expected to be

tank storage asia review


Tank Storage Asia 2012:

Tank Storage Asia 2012:


operational in 2015-2016.

The company has also won

the contract to reclaim a total

3,485 acres of land in Tg Piai

over the next 10 to15 years.

Tanjung Piai is located

17km from Jurong Island,

and close to the major ports

of Johor, Tanjung Langsat,

Jurong and Keppel ports.

It also has natural water

depths of more than 20m,

minimising dredging costs, but

with a subsea that is conducive

for land reclamation.

It also has a vast amount

of land for future expansion,

as well as existing anchorage

area for over 1,000 vessels.

In addition to this, Benalec

has been awarded a project

to reclaim 1,760 acres in

Pengerang, also in Johor,

with the intention of setting

up a petrol and maritime

industrial park on the land

reclaimed. The construction

timeline for this is 10 years.

Phase one of the terminal

in Pengerang will be 150 acres

with a capacity of 1.3 million

m3 with seven berths, at a cost

of RMB1.7 billion (€400 million).

Pengerang is located

120km from Johor and

has an initial refining

capacity of 800,000 bpd.

Mak explained that

although there are a vast

amount of storage projects

planned at the moment, there

remains a large demand

for future capacity.

Reasons for this include

the fact that the International

Maritime Organisation (IMO)

restricts the use of VLCCs

for use as floating storage

capacity, regional demand

from China and India is on the

rise, and trading activating

driven by speculative

storage is also on the up.

Middle East: the one to watch

Behind China, the UAE is the

second largest emerging

storage market. Sanjeev

Sisaudia, group CEO for

local terminal operator Gulf

Petrochem FZC, highlighted

the enormous potential

for the storage market in

Fujairah, the world’s second

largest marine fuels hub.

Refined product demand

in the Middle East, for example,

is expected to grow by 1.8%

a year from 6.7 million bpd in

2010 to 10.4 million bpd in 2035.

To cater for this, additional

refining capacity in the Middle

East between 2012 and 2016 is

projected to be 1.8 million bpd.

Much of this will come

from grassroots projects. The

most likely developments are

Jubail &Yanbu refineries in

Saudi Arabia and Ruwais &

Fuajirah refinery in the UAE,

each adding 400,000 bpd.

Expansions of existing plants

in Karbala in Iraq, Isfahan

in Iran and Rabigh in Saudi

Arabia are also expected.

Saudi Aramco is

partnering with Sinopec for

the Yanbu refinery and with

Total for the Jubail project,

amounting to 400,000 bpd.

Saudi Arabia is planning

another refinery at Jazan

Industrial City (400,000 bpd)

and has revived an older

project for the expansion

of the Ras Tanura refinery

(550,000-950,000 bpd).

Iraq is in negotiations with

several investors about building

four new refineries with an initial

total capacity of 750,000 bpd.

The UAE is also announcing

plans to build a new refinery

in Fujairah (200,000 bpd)

and is opening of a 1.5

million bbl per day Abu

Dhabi crude oil pipeline.

Oman is considering

building a 230,000 bpd

refinery in Duqm and Qatar

is announcing projects in Ras

Laffan and Mesaieed. The latter

would be designed to process

expected additional barrels

from the Al-Shaheen field.

Updating delegates on

Gulf Petrochem’s own project,

Sisaudia explained that Phase I

is now complete. This consists of

412,000m3 storage capacity in

49 tanks ranging from 12,000-

40,000m3. He also added

that the company now has

plans to expand into Africa.

Elsewhere in Asia

Alexander Wood, CEO of

AWR Lloyd, has experience

in new project feasibility,

capital gaining and strategy

consulting in Thailand, Vietnam,

Cambodia and Indonesia, and

used this expeirience to shed

a little more light into some

of the other markets in Asia.

Thailand’s oil consumption

has increased by a factor of

nearly four times since the

1980s, from 200,000 bpd to

nearly 800,000 million bpd, with

the main refineries located

near Bangkok and on the

eastern seaboard in southeast

Thailand, he explained.

Thailand has six large

refineries with a capacity

of around 1.2 million bpd.

Around 4/5ths of Thailand’s

crude is still imported from

the Middle East, however.

The country’s oil

consumption is likely to increase

to around 1.6 million bpd by

2030 and, with domestic oil

production likely to fall over

that time, it will leave the

country increasingly exposed to

the risks of Middle Eastern crude

supply and product imports.

Strategic storage is one

area requiring additional

tankage in the coming

years as the country has

imposed a 90 day net

import strategic standard

by 2030, up from the current

36 days of consumption.

In Vietnam demand

for petroleum products is

expected to grow from


1. China

2. UAE

3. India

4. Canada

5. Iran

6. Netherlands

7. France

8. Poland

9. Singapore

10. South Korea

The global top 10 emerging oil storage markets


16.5 million tonnes in 2012 to

39.3 million tonnes in 2025.

New refinery constructions

are still uncertain but, by

2030, the country could have

refining capacity of 40 million

tonnes per year or more.

Vietnam’s petroleum

consumption is likely to double

within the next two decades.

The country currently has

commercial storage capacity

of around 4 million m3,

equivalent to around 60 days

of consumption. However the

government plans to increase

stockpiling rules, so it will fall

mainly on industry (albeit mainly

state-owned) to achieve

strategic storage of over 70

days of consumption by 2025.

In Indonesia oil demand

stands at around 1.4 million bpd.

AWR Lloyd forecasts consumption

of around 2.2 million bd by 2030.

Current stock levels in

Indonesia are estimated at

around 20 days of consumption

but again the country’s

government is currently

formulating a strategic

reserves programme.

Coping with natural disasters

With Hurricane Sandy still

fresh in the memories of

those affected Brent Cooper,

terminal operations manager

at Z Energy, shared his

experiences of how the New

Zealand earthquakes also

impacted the storage sector.

Z Energy is the largest

supplier of fuel to the New

Zealand market. Due to

geographical isolation,

four companies, Z Energy,

Chevron, Mobil and BP, are

all involved in various JVs

which enables comingled

storage and shared use of

terminal and shipping assets.

Christchurch was rocked by

two powerful earthquakes in

2010 and 2011, causing major

infrastructural damage and

disruption to the fuel chain.

Damage to terminals included

foundation seals, stretched

bolts and tank settlement.

Refineryclosures?

Colin Allcard, MD of Channoil

Consulting, gave a rundown

of the refinery closures in

Europe and asked whether

a similar situation would

unfold across Asia.

Indications are, however,

that Asia Pacific will not have

excess capacity, so refineries’

margins should stay healthy.

Having said that, smaller

low conversion units could

still come under pressure.

With so much positivity

secreting from the event it is no

surprise that next year’s event has

already been announced, with

over 80% of this year’s exhibitors

already re-booked to return to

Singapore on 10-11 December

2013. For full details visit

www.tankstorageasia.com


10

COMPANY LOCATION CDU CAPACITY KBPD CURRENT STATUS NEW OPERATOR

UNITED KINGDOM

BP Isle Of Grain Kent 150 Closed -new port

Llandarcy Wales 80 Closed

Grangemouth Scotland 180 Operating Ineos/Petrochina

Belfast N. Ireland 80 Closed

Shell Shellhaven Thames 180 Closed- New Container terminal

Teesport NE England 80 Closed- New Container terminal

Ardrossan Scotland Closed

Stanlow Mersey River 240 Operating Essar Energy

Esso Milford Haven Wales 100 Closed-dismantled

Chevron/Gulf Milford Haven Wales 210 Operating Valero

Murco Milford Haven Wales 120 Converting to terminal

Petroplus Teeside NE England 80 Closed- Oil terminal

Coryton Thames 220 Closed-Terminal

Closed 2080 kbpd Sold 1098 kbpd Converted 790 kbpd 11

COMPANY LOCATIONCDU

CAPACITY KBPD

CURRENT STATUS

FRANCE

BP Vernon Rouen 100 Closed dismantledDunkirk N Coast 80 Closed dismantledStrasbourg 80 Closed dismantled

Total Dunkirk N Coast 156 Closed -TerminalPetroplus Petit Couronne 162 BankruptLyondellBassel Berre Provence 105 Closed

BELGIUM

Petroplus Antwerp 108 Restarted by GunvorAntwerp 112 Closed Terminal

GERMANYShell Harburg Hamburg 110 Closed-TerminalPetroplus Ingoldstadt Bavaria 105 Closed-Gunvor possible restart

ITALYTamoil Cremona NE Italy 80 ClosedERG Total Civita Vecchia Rome 86 ClosedENI Gela Sicily 105 Closed for 12 monthsAPI Falconara E Coast 83 Closed for 12 monthsERG Total Priolo Sicily 360 80% sold to Lukoil

events

Tank Storage magazine (ISSN 1750-841X) is published six times a year (in January, March, May, July, September and November) by Horseshoe Media Ltd, Marshall House, 124 Middleton Road, Morden, Surrey, SM4 6RW, United Kingdom.The 2012 US Institutional subscription price is $240. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by Agent named Air Business, C/O Worldnet Shipping USA Inc., 155-11 146th Street, Jamaica, New York NY11434. Periodical postage pending at Jamaica NY 11431.Subscription records are maintained at Horseshoe Media Ltd, Marshall House, 124 Middleton Road, Morden, Surrey, SM4 6RW, United Kingdom.Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent.

advert index8 Aile 52

8 Aker Solutions 78

8 Auma 62

8 Bakken Crude Oil Logistics 55

8 BTE 21

8 Cashco 50

8 CB & I 7

8 CST Covers Front Cover, 31

8 EA Projects 23

8 Envent 24

8 Franklin Valve 27

8 HMT 42

8 ILTA 84

8 IMHOF 33

8 Ivens 15

8 Kanon IFC

8 L&J OBC

8 LBFT Conference 65

8 Lightning Master 25

8 Magnetrol 47

8 Meridian 83

8 Mesa 29

8 NISTM 80

8 Nordic Storage 11

8 Oiltanking 10

8 OPW 79

8 Oreco 13

8 Pentair 51

8 PFTAlexander 39

8 Protego 22

8 Rosen 16

8 SafeCut 19

8 StocExpo IBC

8 Vacono America 58

8 Zerust 14

FEBRUARY 2013n19-21stFebruaryLBTF Conference Hyatt Regency, Austin, TexasThe upcoming LBTF Conference will have a special focus on oil and gas, following the progression of the EPA enforcement. This will include current and pending rulemaking, permitting implications and increased regulatory scrutiny.

n 18-20th February International Petroleum Week Park Plaza Victoria, London, UK Over 2,000 visitors are expected to attend IP Week, which will feature conferences and seminars and an exhibition, in addition to an evening reception and annual dinner. Topics to be covered include finance and investment, technology and regional outlooks.

MARCH 2013n19-21stMarchStocExpoAntwerp Expo, Antwerp, Belgium The Storage Terminal Operators’ Conference and Exhibition (StocExpo), now in its ninth year, provides a platform for terminal operators, traders, regulators and equipment suppliers to do business. The 2012 event boasted more than 180 exhibitors from 29 countries across the world. A world-renowned conference will run alongside the three-day exhibition.

APRIL 2013n29-30thAprilTank Storage Forum MENADubai, UAEThe MENA 2013 conference will address the key issues facing tank storage professionals in the region. The forum is attended by over 250 experts from the Middle East and North Africa including oil and chemical companies, ports, tank terminal operators, integrators and supplies.

MAY 2013n 6-8th May8th Annual Bulk Liquid Storage Tanks ConferenceSouthern Sun Elangeni, Durban, South AfricaHighlighting the latest advances in technologies, processes and procedures for effective storage tank management. This year the conference is in the new location of Durban and will also feature a seminar on tank terminal management.

JUNE 2013n 3-5th JuneILTAHouston, TexasThe International Liquid Terminals Association aims to provide its members with information tools to facilitate regulatory compliance and improve operations, safety and environmental performance while at the same time offering opportunities for relationship building, networking and knowledge sharing.

n 5-7th June OGA – the 14th Asian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Engineering Exhibition Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia OGA 2013 will showcase the latest technology, equipment and machinery in the fields of oil, gas and petrochemical engineering. The 2011 show saw the participation of 1,560 companies from 45 countries that attracted 20,705 trade visitors from 68 countries.

SEPTEMBER 2013n17-19thSeptemberTank Storage Forum LATAMSao Paulo, Brazil This event provides information and networking opportunities to industry professionals in the region. It will bring together over 250 oil and chemical companies, ports, tank terminal operators, integrators and suppliers to share best practice and address growth opportunities in the region.

OCTOBER 2013

n9-10thOctoberTank Storage Canada TELUS Convention Centre, CalgaryThis two-day conference and exhibition brings together terminal operators, traders, regulators and equipment suppliers from around the world.

DECEMBER 2013

n 10-11th DecemberTank Storage AsiaMax Atria, Singapore ExpoThis two-day conference and expo brings together terminal operators, traders, regulators and equipment suppliers. Technology on display at the exhibition includes everything relating to tank design, construction and maintenance, through to innovations in metering and measuring, pumps and valves, and automation and loading equipment.


page header

TANK STORAGE •January/February2013 xx

For more information on exhibiting at StocExpo, please contact:

Sharé Mason: T: +44 (0)20 8843 8819 E: [email protected] Hall: T: +44 (0)20 8843 8817 E: [email protected]

www.stocexpo.com

Consisting of a three-day Conference and Exhibition, StocExpo provides the opportunity for terminal operators, traders, regulators as well as equipment suppliers to come together to network and do business in this vital region.

The exhibition provides an excellent sales and marketing platform for manufacturers and suppliers of everything from tank design, construction and maintenance, through to innovations in automation, certification, inspection, loading equipment, metering, measuring, pumps and a lot more.

The Conference will attract terminal and pipeline operators, as well as traders, analysts, regulators, renewable energy producers and technical expert. They will come together to discuss the key issues impacting the sector.

THE STORAGE TERMINAL OPERATORS’CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

ANTwERp EXpO19 - 21 MARCH 2013

EUROPE’S LEADING INTERNATIONAL EVENT FOR THE TANK TERMINAL INDUSTRY

Official Publication

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xx January/February2013•TANK STORAGE

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fax: (708) [email protected]

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tank storage magazine january 2013

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