Nationwide, multi-site, petrochemical storage tanks decommission
Industrial Environmental Services (IES), together with one of Australia’s leading environmental consultants, was awarded a project to decommission and exhume 32 underground petroleum storage systems (UPSS) for a major petroleum refiner and retailer.
The brief
The petrochemical storage tanks varied in size from 5 to 70 kilolitres and were located in redundant retail sites across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. The challenge: complete the job within 62 working days at a fixed cost.
Execution
To meet the expedited timeline, our approach was to maximise time onsite and (as always) minimise any remediation requirements. This required thorough pre-planning, proactive local council and stakeholder engagement, efficient teamwork and the use of technical innovation.
Exploratory excavations uncovered three previously decommissioned underground petrochemical storage tanks which were not included in the initial project scope. Each had been left in situ and filled with cement stabilised sand. Despite being stabilised, orphaned tanks must be treated as a potentially explosive environment. We addressed the risk of ignition by using our cold cutting hydraulic shear technique which allows us to precision cut metal components without the application of heat. The in situ UPSS were safely processed using the specialised shearing attachment, side stepping any time or budgets impacts from this unforeseen element to the project scope.
Outcome
The geographically spread remediated sites were delivered to the client within the scheduled timeframe and completed within the agreed, fixed budget.
We credit our deep experience and knowledge of the petroleum industry to assess the associated risks and physical environments. This, coupled with a clear understanding of project priorities, upfront planning, industry contacts, and resources, enabled us to develop an approach to maximise commercial return, mitigate cost uncertainties and risks.
