Niugini Oil Company, Papua New Guinea – Lining Bulk Fuel Storage Tanks

Niugini Oil Company, Papua New Guinea – Lining Bulk Fuel Storage Tanks 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. 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.

For more information on Niugini Oil Company, Papua New Guinea – Lining Bulk Fuel Storage Tanks talk to Specialist Coatings (GB) Ltd