North American Pipeline Project

This project was a series of 3,275 US gallon horizontal, integral contained storage tanks labelled ULC S601-14 for the periodic storage of pipeline-grade crude oil at a series of pump stations along a prominent oil pipeline currently under construction in Canada and the United States. In the final application the tanks sit empty, to be filled only when pipeline maintenance is scheduled or required. The client requirements included heat to maintain the proper oil viscosity, external structures, an extensive assortment of nozzles and a design that allows for the tanks to ship almost entirely in components.

Based on rigorous client standards, the tanks were externally sandblasted and coated with an Intergard 2575 primer along with Devoe Bar-Rust 235 paint. Internals were fully welded, sandblasted near white and lined with two coats of Devoe Bar-Rust 236.

Tanks were designed to maintain 50°F in temperatures to a low of -50°F through the addition of heat trace and mineral wool insulation, all clad in banded aluminum. To prevent heat loss through the manway and flanges our design also integrated soft jacket insulation covers and blankets.

Each tank included a galvanized platform structure designed to high tolerances that matched up to the site catwalk system at each station. All projecting structures attached to or extending around the tank were engineered by our Engineering team accounting for snow loads, wind loads and seismic zones. Additional engineering was required for horizontally projecting cable tray mounts and the support of extra tall vent extensions as required by the client.

The project was not without significant challenges. Not-withstanding the requirement of maintaining temperature in extremely harsh Canadian winters, the entire package had to be designed as such that it could be entirely assembled on site. Our Engineering and Operations teams spent countless hours designing a modular system that was both shippable and met or exceeded the engineering requirements for on-site assembly and long-term use. A tear-down/set-up design such as this required the integration of innovating engineering solutions with minimal welding. All structural engineering calculations came from our internal teams and were provided to the client prior to construction.

Per the client’s requirements, the tanks were shipped to site with vacuum in the interstice to allow for on-site leak testing. While this test is not a requirement of ULC S601-14, the customer requested the redundant testing as outlined in the US standard UL 142 (STI FLAMESHIELD®).

Given the engineered nature of this project, inspection, engineering and documentation requirements were very high. Tanks were inspected no less than four times each, and an extremely detailed vendor document package of 300 to 400 pages was provided. Additionally, full traceability in every front was provided.

Although the design was detailed and the fabrication was exacting, we did operate under a competitive bid situation. As such, both the Engineering and Fabrication teams were challenged to find ways to cut costs without jeopardizing the integrity of the design. Two specific solutions came from the shop floor. The first related to the internal piping and requirement for perforations on an internally projecting level sensor pipe. The idea was floated to utilize our new, state-of-the-art plasma table to perforate the pipe in-house. The idea was a success. The second related to limitations in the tub size available to us as part of the galvanizing/dipping process required for the platform. Limited by maximum sizes the Engineering team designed the legs and braces to maximize the size our galvanizing contractor’s equipment, all while maintaining the structural integrity of the platform under the defined factors and policies.