How do you do the inspection of oil storage tanks? What technology do you use for finding out if oil tanks are leaking?

Following is the procedure which will be used for a safe and efficient tank inspection program.

1. Tank will emptied and taken out of service. If it is a crude oil tank, it is recommendable to have a sludge reduction program in place e.g. additional mixing and light crude oils.
2. All pipeline connections to the tank will be disconnected and provided with blind flanges.
3. Tank will be cleaned by experienced contractors.
4. After the cleaning and oxygen/gas measurements, a first visual inspection will take place.
5. In case, a coal tar epoxy has been used, this layer has to be removed by blasting. ( N.B. the use of coal tar epoxy is since several years forbidden!).
6. A bottom scan will be carried out via the MFL method. This will a complete scan/inspection of the bottom, including the annular ring area.
7. Also the floating roof will be measured on topside, bottom side, sleeves, welding etc.
8. The thickness of the tankwall will be measured.
9. The roundness of the tank will be measured for an optimal functioning of the seal of the floating roof.
10. There is the possibility to measure condition of the tank bottom while tank is in operational condition with the use of equipment which has been positioned outside the tank. This is called “acoustic emission measurement of the tank bottom”.

This answer was provided by Captain Leo Kloet of Kloet Marine Consultancy. www.kloet-marine.nl

I have gauges from several different vendors e.g. Enraf, Saab, Whessoe and want to get all the data into a single inventory management system. Can it be achieved?

Yes it can. MHT Technology Ltd offer a range of open, scalable solutions that are designed to interface to any gauge vendor. Their Datacon unit has all the native fieldbuses out of one box; the Datacon is a data acquisition system which can provide multiple host interfaces to a range of systems including an inventory management system, site PLC, or SCADA system all at the same time if necessary.

This answer was provided by Malcolm Tennant of MHT Technology.

Can I use Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) to inspect the lap welds as well as the floor plates?

No, Magnetic Flux Leakage is used to inspect the parent plate material for corrosion defects and cannot be used for the lap welds. The most common method of inspecting storage tank floor plate lap welds is by use of a Vacuum Box.

This answer was provided by Simon Packer of Silverwing UK Ltd.

We would like to upgrade our inventory management system and in the process achieve compliance with the appropriate Buncefield Requirements. Is there currently a system on the market that achieves this?

MHT Technology’s system, Visual Tank for Windows (VTW) has been enhanced to include compliance with Recommendation 2, 8 and 9. Most of the features revolve around increased use of gauge diagnostics, validating the operation of devices through new test features, a “black box” flight recorder for logging all changes to the system, a configurable alarm sub-system where alarms can be grouped by severity, enunciated by severity etc and a comprehensive movement system for monitoring tanks whilst they are loading/receiving product.

This answer was provided by Malcolm Tennant of MHT Technology.

How do I find out more about the implications of REACH on my Terminal Business?

The following websites will provide you with a great deal of information on "REACH":

ReachCentrum (Cefic)

ReachReady (CIA, UK)

Link of links

This answer was provided by Fraser Eadie of PortStorage Group B.V.

How is throughput calculated?

Throughput is the number of times the Total capacity of tankage rented or owned is turned over in a given period of time.

This answer was provided by Frits Ploeg of PortStorage Group B.V.

What is the conversion between US Barrels and Cubic Metres?

To convert Barrels to M3, multiply barrels by 6.29 (approx). 1 barrel equals 0.158 987 294 928.

This answer was provided by Rob Luijendijk of PortStorage Group B.V.

Hi, we have several tanks where stratification is a problem. Is it possible to buy an instrument that can detect stratification?

Some servo operated level gauges have this capability. In particular the Servo Gauge from Enraf has the ability to make a 10 point profile over the height of the liquid. Clearly, the application of such gauges has to be on “clean” products so that the displacer does not become contaminated. When the profile is uploaded to the host system it can be manually viewed as a graph to see if the tank is stratified. In addition a package called VTW from MHT Technology can automatically analyse the profile to give an alarm if stratification is detected.

This answer was provided by Malcolm Tennant of MHT Technology.

Is it possible to install a TankRadar gauge whilst the tank is in service?

Yes, the TankRadar units fist on existing nozzles, man ways or still pipes and can be installed without any hot work or large modifications.

This answer was provided by Johan Sandberg of Emerson