Design of tank farms, oil products transfer facilities

Проектирование нефтебаз, складов ГСМ, наливных и сливных эстакад

A tank farm is a complex of constructions, structures and equipments for acceptance, storage, transfer from one means of transport to another one and release of oil and oil products. There are transfer tank farms, crude-oil tank farms (yards), distribution tank farms Transfer tank farms are designed for transfer from one means of transport to another one or to the same one: from ocean-going tankers and barges into river transport, from railway routes into individual tanks and so on. Crude-oil tank farms (yards) can be feed (acceptance, storage of crude materials under refining, pretreatment for its refining) and stock (acceptance of oil products from the units, storage of oil products and shipment). As a rule, feed and stock tank farms are united into one facility situated on the territory conjoint with the refinery or near it. Distribution tank farms supply the enterprises directly and also release oil products in vials. They are formally divided into regional, district, railway, marine-railway, marine, pipeline and subsurface. Tank farms of this type have a limited operation range, the tank farm capacity is rather small. Many tank farms perform combined functions simultaneously - those of transfer, crude-oil and distribution tank farms.

For the facilities of oil products storage and transfer we can state a list of the design works performed:

1) Design of the transfer tank farms and distribution tank farms (oil depots);

2) Design of the feed and stock tank farms of industrial enterprises (crude-oil yards);

3) Design of the marine transfer tank farms, oil terminals;

4) Development of the projects on oil products active storage of small capacity;

5) Design of the substandard fuels and lubricants terminals, for example, with underground tanks (for the civil and military strategic facilities and the northern territories);

6) Development of the documentation on replacement and modernization of process equipment of tank farms in operation;

7) Development of the documentation on reconstruction and extension of tank batteries of the tank farms in operation;

8) Ensure that fire and industrial safety systems of tank farms meet modern standards and regulations of the normative and technical documentation;

9) Design of the single systems and facilities: loading/unloading racks, tank batteries, fire-fighting systems, computer-aided systems;

10) Restoration of the lost project documentation on old tank farms;

Classification of tank farms

All tank farms can be relatively divided into two groups. The first group includes tank farms which are individual enterprises and oil field commodity-transport and stock shops, oil refineries and main pipelines disposing a tank battery of large capacity (more than 2000 cubic meters). The second group comprises tank farms which are a part of enterprises and which have a bulk volume of tank battery for volatile oil products storage with capacity of no less than 2000 cubic meters. Such a classification was used in accordance with the standards which were in effect in 1970.

According to the modern standards tank farms are subdivided into:

On total capacity and maximum volume of one tank – into categories in accordance with the Construction Codes and Regulations (SNiP) 2.11.03-93;

On functionality – into transfer tank farms, crude-oil tank farms (yards), distribution tank farms;

On transportation ways of oil products delivery and loading – into rail, water (marine, river), pipeline, automobile and combined as well – water-rail tank farms, pipeline-rail tank farms and so on);

On denomination of oil products stored – into tank farms for highly flammable and inflammable oil products and tank farms of general storage as well;

On annual cargo turn-over – into five grades in accordance with the Table of Industry-specific norms on technical design (VNTP) 5-95.

General characteristics of tank farms

Проектирование перевалочных нефтебаз в морские суда, проектирование нефтебаз и баз хранения нефтепродуктов

In order of importance the operations performed at a tank farm can be principal and supplemental. Principal operations include such as:

1)Acceptance of the oil products delivered to a tank farm in rail cars, oil carriers, by main pipelines, by auto and air transport and in vials (pods, puncheons);

2)Oil products storage in tanks and storage facilities;

3) Oil products and oil transshipment by railways, cars, water and pipeline transport;

4) Compounding of oil products (from English “Compound” – composite, compounding, blending)

Supplemental operations comprise as follows:

1) Refining and dehydration of oil products;

2) Manufacture and repair of oil storage vessels;

3) Repair of processing equipment, constructions and structures;

4) Power units and vehicle operation.

Volumes of principal and supplemental operations depend on the category of a tank farm and the program of their operating activities.

In order to make an accurate and continuous performance of all the operations and in fire safety regards all the facilities of tank farms are divided zonally.

Zone of railway operations include the constructions for loading and unloading of oil products and oils. In this zone there is a placement of railway access roads, loading/unloading racks, pump houses, operator’s shack for the attendants of a rack.

Zone of water oil loading operations include the constructions for loading and unloading of oil products transported by sea. In this zone there is a placement of marine and river cargo quays (piers and moorings), pump houses, shore tank farms, process pipelines, operator’s shacks.

Storage zone includes the following facilities: feed tank farms, process pipelines, pump houses, operator’s shacks.

Operating zone - where oil products are delivered in small portions into tank cars, pods and puncheons - has loading racks for oil products loading into tank cars, filling machines for oil products loading into flanks, warehouses for the oil products filled, laboratory for the analysis of the oil products quality, storehouses etc.

The zone of the auxiliary constructions intended for the service of a tank farm includes: mechanical workshop, boiler, power station or transformer substation, shop on manufacture and repair of oil containers, water and sanitary constructions, a warehouse, a fuel storehouse for the operations at a tank farm, fire-prevention service facilities .

Administrative zone which can consist of a tank farm office, fire station, security building, mechanic shop.

Treating facility zone can include water-oil separator, pump house at a water-oil separator, modular treating facilities.

A brief history of the tank farms development

The history of origin of the oil warehouse facilities in our country is closely related to the development ofthe Baku oil industry on the Absheron peninsula. The first data on the Baku oil springs throw back. At that time a seeping oil was bailed by buckets, stored and transported in crocks and wineskins - leather bottles greased inside with a pitch tar. The only way of oil transportation in those days was a camel transportation. It is interesting to notice that the Baku oil was transported this way at a distance over 1000 kilometers and even reached Bagdad.

The oil extraction in the XVII century was about 3500 tons per year. During this period, as a matter of fact, the first oil warehouses representing earth pits - the tanks arranged in clay soils -come into existence. Such a way of oil storage has been used for a long time up till the second half of the XIX century.

In 1873 in Balaxani there was an oil gusher from a borehole from the depth of 29 m which has flooded all the vicinity. From now on despite the inefficient technical capacities, drilling of boreholes has been at a swift rate and the oil industry began to develop quickly.

The first steel tank was built in 1878 under the project of the engineer (later - the academician) V.G.Shukhov and engineer A.V.Bari. Since this time oil warehouses has been equipped with metal tanks and steam pumps.

In a pre-revolutionary Russia the oil industry development was in accordance with the capitalist competition principles, private companies solved the problems of oil products supply on their own. Tank farms were constructed in view of the opportunistic features of the internal and external markets. Tank farms were built and operated with paying little attention to the scientific and technical requirements. Before the Great October Socialist Revolution the oil warehouse facilities was in the extremely bad condition.

In July 1918 all the petroleum industry of a former Russian Empire along with the enterprises of the private-capitalist companies was nationalized under the decree of the Council of People's Commissars and its management was under the state control. By this time the oil warehouse facilities- one of the most important branches of a petroleum industry - have been substantially plundered, destroyed by the interveners and have been a ruin. As many as 91 small oil warehouses from 1000 ones were operated.

Restoration of tank farms was on three directions:

1) With a view of economy of real assets and operation costs the oil warehouses were constructed in the areas where due to the competition of the former private companies there were two and more oil warehouses;

2) Wide reconstruction of tank farms equipment;

3) As the available oil warehouses network owing to the geographical position did not meet the requirements of the appropriate organization on oil products supply of a rapid developing national economy, the construction of new oil warehouses was started. During the first Stalin five-year plan (1928-1932) with reference of a huge state-farm construction and realization of the expanded collectivization program on the mechanization basis the issue of a further improvement of the oil supply system became extremely urgent. Development of tank farms at this time was far behind the other branches of a petroleum industry; besides the bad order of the warehouse equipment had a great influence on the quality of oil products and resulted in significant losses of them.

Therefore in the field of the oil warehouse facilities the five-year plan is characterized by the reconstruction and expansion of the oil warehouse network. The general direction of reconstruction was an adaptation of oil warehouses for the reception of oil products in a larger assortment and increase in throughput of tank farms.

By the end of the second five-year plan the oil warehouse petroselling facilities has increased on the tank farms network by 55,7 %, on capacity - by 9,7 %, besides a tank farm on large oil warehouses has increased by 2,5 %, on product sales storages (small) - by 83,6 %.

For these years oil warehouses of the Main Petroselling System have turned into economic wholesale units - tank farms - by the liquidation of oil products retail sale, increases in the goods turnover and integration of operations. The oil warehouse facilities provided a continuous supply of the soviet economy with a wide variety of oil products.

Проектирование складов и баз хранения нефтепродуктов

In the third five-year plan it was necessary to reconstruct transfer tank farms of national standing and develop the tank farms network, especially in the eastern regions; to provide tank farms with a sufficient capacity, especially on the structure of tank farms and pipelines system for a separate reception, storage and release of oil products to prevent quality depreciation and to reduce oil products losses, to provide tank farms improvement with establishing appropriate housing and cultural conditions for the oil warehouse staff; to create the adequate conditions to keep this staff working here and for the staff to have skill upgrading; to mechanize labor-intensive processes at tank farms; to increase greatly the technical efficiency of the tare facilities.

By 1913 the goods turnover at tank farms has reached 100 %, by 1927 – 104 %, by 1932 – 246 %, by 1937 – 359 % , by 1941 – 400 %.

By 1928 the capacity of tank farms has made 100 %, by 1932 – 127 %, by 1938 – 178 %,

The treacherous attack of fascist Germany delayed the performance of this extensive program and brought about huge losses to the oil warehouse facilities which was greatly destroyed by the German aggressors.

However despite hard war years, as soon as the Soviet Army freed the areas temporarily occupied by the enemy there were immediate actions taken to make a rapid restoration of tank farms.

The fourth Stalin five-year plan has witnessed the re-establishment of the oil warehouse facilities destroyed, equipage of the current tank farms with the advanced technology, construction of new oil warehouses.