Storage tanks

Storage tanks are placed by 6 groups called tank farms. Tank farms which are used for the storage of crude oil, fuel oil, gas oil, gasoline, methanol, pyrolysis resins and other lightweight oil products , consist of 27 tanks with a total capacity of 402 000 cubic meters.

Each tank is equipped with all the devices required to ensure safe operation, inspection and maintenance. All current information related with condition of storage tanks is transferred to the central control room via intelligent transmitters and detectors. The control room is located in the terminal and equipped with the technology to control and manage technological processes via an automated control system called SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition).

Hydrocarbons are transferred to the storage tanks from railway offloading trestles via pump stations with a flow rate of 2 000 cu.mph. All tanks are equipped with breathing valves to prevent the generation of vacuum or overpressure during technological processes. Vapor spaces of all tanks are connected with each other via a vapor equalization system to minimize emissions to the atmosphere. For the latter purpose, storage tanks, in which lightweight oil products such as gasoline, para-xylene are stored, are equipped with internal floating roofs. During the loading of sea tankers, the vapor space of the tankers are also connected to the vapor return line to minimize emissions from the tankers.

To eliminate major accidents and environmental catastrophes, all tanks are:

• Bounded with concrete embankment to contain the whole capacity of tank volume in case of storage integrity loss. 
• Provided with magnesium anodes to protect tank floors from adverse corrosive processes.
• Protected with an automatic firefighting system with its own fire water and foam pump station.
• Equipped with an earthing and lightning protection system in giving consideration to the geological position of the terminal
• Equipped with motorized wedge gate valves, connected with a tank overflow protection shut-down system
• In storage tanks for lightweight oil products there is possibility of feeding with nitrogen, in order to form so called nitrogen pillow.

Each Tank is monitored and Maintained by an approved preventive maintenance planning system:

• Scheduled internal cleaning and residual removal;
• External wall surface non-destructive scheduled tests;
• Scheduled tank calibration for commercial proposes;
• Scheduled examination of firefighting systems;
• Scheduled grounding system verification/examination;
• Tank safety and testing equipment scheduled examination;
• Hydrocarbon leak detection system.