Different countries, different challenges: long distances to get to the customer, rough terrains, extreme weather conditions … The challenges faced by companies offering tank cleaning services to Russian refineries and oil terminals are completely different to those their counterparts must deal with here in Western Europe. No matter where in the world it may be, however, BUCHEN always cleans tanks using closed and automated systems which it has developed and adapted itself to ensure they are fit for purpose. Which is why these systems are also deployed in Russia to deliver safe and environmentally compatible tank cleaning services and recover high volumes of crude oil for re-use.

The oil tank itself was cleaned using a closed and automated system. This tank-cleaning process is not only the safest way for operatives to carry out their work, it is also the most environmentally friendly. What’s more, it is able to recover high levels of crude oil from the sludge. This method involves a number of different stages: firstly, the jet washer system was installed and the paraffinic deposits on the floor of the tank sprayed with heated crude oil until the floating roof settled on its supports. Following this, nitrogen was used to create an inert atmosphere so that the deposits could be flushed out – first with crude oil and then with water. The next stage was to remove the waste air and gas via the access manholes in the side of the tank. Finally, vacuum trucks were brought in to extract any remaining deposits from the floor of the tank before the whole of the tank interior was cleaned with hot, high pressure water.

The cleaning specialists had to deploy a whole range of equipment to complete this work, all of which was loaded into sea containers in Ufa and then transported by truck to the terminal: everything needed for the project, which lasted several months, was delivered to the site – from jet washers (see illustration), to nitrogen generators, high pressure pumps, water traps, compressors and heat exchangers, all the way through to a workshop for repairing the operatives’ respirators.

A second team were also successfully cleaning another large tank in Atyrau, Kazakhstan, around the same time: here, though, the BUCHEN specialists were working on a 32,500 cubic metre crude oil tank with a domed roof. As was the case in De-Kastri, the tank (ca. 20m high and 48m wide) had to be emptied and cleaned so it could be inspected and overhauled. It was located in the Atyrau oil terminal, which stores and processes oil delivered by pipeline from the Karachaganak field 635 kilometres away.

Here, too, the tank was cleaned using a closed and automated system and crude oil to flush out the deposits. The main challenge that the company had to face in this particular project was the unusual dome-shaped floating roof as the BUCHEN experts had to develop a bespoke solution to enable them to install their cleaning equipment. The pressure pipelines, for example, had to be attached to the roof access ladder rather than along the tank’s inner and outer walls, which would have been the standard procedure. “Drawing up tailor-made solutions is, of course, one of our specialties,” explained project manager, Vadim Mansurov.

As in Germany, the operatives deployed for the project had to take part in special safety training courses and prove they were able to perform the work. Participating in seminars organised by the customer to learn about the on-site safety and emergency measures is a normal part of their work as is compiling project-specific method standards. This involves defining all individual work stages and all technology and equipment that will be needed for the project and then presenting these details to the client.

“Over the years, we have been able to demonstrate our professional approach and the high quality of our work in many different projects and locations and we are really pleased to be able to add De-Kastri and Atyrau to this list,” concluded Ljudmila Ochotnikova.