Storage tanks store a diverse variety of liquids used in the hydrocarbon processing industry at oil/gas fields, refineries, petrochemical plants, marine terminals, bulk storage, oil depots and marketing terminals. They are also part of the support facilities in other industries, such as fuel storage tanks at power plants. These tanks have gained importance and visibility in recent years due to failures that have resulted in hydrocarbon spills and environmental impact. Following these incidents, there has been a marked increase in governmental regulation and industry attention to tanks.
A tank maintenance and integrity evaluation programme can only be effective if it also considers tank design requirements. Recognizing the primary features of these tanks and understanding how they are designed provide the information needed to better understand their maintenance requirements. The first part of this course focuses on atmospheric storage tank design requirements in accordance with API 650.
Once the basics of storage tank design have been established, the course will turn to maintenance requirements in accordance with API 653. The course includes slides of actual installations, sample problems, and classroom exercises to illustrate specific points and give course participants the opportunity to practice application of the topics discussed. It is recommended that participants bring copies of API 650 and API 653 to the course. Participants are asked to bring their laptops or hand-held calculators to the course.
This course is meant for providing the participants with the knowledge about types of conventional storage tanks, fixed and floating roof tanks, tank selection and product classification including cost awareness for new structures. The participants will learn the design aspects, codes and standards, tank shell design and tank foundations. Operational aspects like blending, tank mixers, floating roof movements, roof drains and roof seals are also covered under this course. During this course, the participants will also learn to develop pro active maintenance activities, develop tank inspection plans and intervals, design codes and operation of tanks, Safety aspects and dominant failure modes.