We were contacted
by the Niugini Oil Company in Papua New Guinea who had problems
with one of their above-ground bulk fuel storage tanks at their
tank farm in Lae. The tank, a 1,000 ton Columbia Tec Tank used for
automotive diesel oil, was weeping between the bolted sections on
the joints of the plate overlaps.
Rather than replace the tank they were looking for a company who
could supply an internal lining system that would meet the American
Petroleum Institute API spec 12B and that was suitable to be applied
and to function under tropical conditions, with sufficient flexibility
to withstand a wide range of temperatures and chemically resistant
to the medium (automotive diesel fuel) in the tank.
Niugini Oil Company had contacted several companies, but either
the companies they contacted were unable to find a solution to this
complex problem or they were not willing to travel out to Papua
New Guinea to carry out the work.
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It has often been our experience that many companies can provide
very good materials, but few can deliver the full package that we,
as an independent company, are able to. Often we are sourcing materials
for a single project from several different suppliers. We are able
to offer a full service package for tank lining work World Wide
from the supplying of materials and site application supervision
through to the supply of the materials, carrying out the surface
preparation, the application of materials, quality control testing
and always offer first-class technical support pre and post project.
We recommended to the Niugini Oil Company a full internal lining
system to the walls and floor based on a combination of a strong
anti-corrosion resin primer, a special epoxy resin based flexible
jointing compound followed by two coats of a glass flake reinforced
solvent free flexible epoxy resin tank lining material.
To keep costs to a minimum we proposed that they used local labour
for the surface preparation and new lining application works. We
would provide the materials, application equipment, quality control
testing and overall on site supervision.
The required materials and application equipment were shipped out
ocean freight by container in advance of the work. Two technical
engineers were then flown out from the UK to the Niugini Oil Company
in Papua New Guinea. They confirmed the initial assessment of the
problem, then oversaw the surface preparation as well as supervised
the application and testing of the applied lining.
We applied multiple coats of a special flexible glass flake reinforced
epoxy tank lining system.
Following successful application the newly applied internal lining
was fully tested for overall DFT (dry film thickness) and absence
of micro-porosity in the new lining, making minor repairs and re-testing
where appropriate.
Finally the client filled the tanks with fuel to further test and
confirm the integrity of our newly applied tank lining system.
An additional advantage of our tank lining system is that it makes
the internal surfaces of the tank easier to clean and maintain the
high standard of fuel supplied by Niugini Oil.
The job went very well, was completed on time even with the tropical
working temperatures, the products worked with amazing results,
and the client was highly satisfied with the final outcome. We are
currently in discussions regarding the lining of two further tanks
later in the year.
Our technology has enabled Niugini Oil to utilize much needed additional
storage capacity at very little cost.”
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