Oil Storage Tanks – The New Reality under Covid-19

The current global situation of the Covid-19 pandemic has severely reduced oil demand and the “war” between worldwide oil producers is causing an over-supply of fuel around the world. Given the high cost of shutting down a well even temporarily, any producer would be willing to pay someone to dispose of the oil.

Global oil storage capacity has an upper usability limit of about 1.2 billion barrels. Oil in storage around the world could reach 1 billion barrels within weeks. As much as 80 million barrels of oil are stored in floating storage with a potential of 100 million barrels.

The desperate search for oil storage drives some oil producers to consider rail cars as a viable option for fuel storage. The US Department of Energy plans to make 30 million barrels of emergency oil storage available to producers. The cost of storing petrochemicals in Singapore has increased by more than 38% over the last three months as the hub rapidly reaches capacity.

Nevertheless, a question that can’t be ignored these days is if oil storage facilities are exposed now to a much higher risk, knowing that storage tanks are almost full.

We are talking here about the risk of oil leaks and spills in these facilities, including over-fill events. The implications include:

• Violation of environmental regulations

• Loss of product

• Injuries and loss of human lives

• Damages to internal and third-party property

• Potential liabilities

Infrastructure failures or human mistakes can increase the above-mentioned risks in newly built storage tanks but especially in old storage tanks. During these times when oil prices are so low, storage facilities owners can’t afford any additional expenses related to oil leaks and spills. Immediate leak or spill warning is crucial and represent the last sentinel before escalation to a disaster.

These are good enough reasons to invest these days in proven-in-use, third party verified, early warning oil leaks and spills detection systems. Leakwise systems are the exact solution that every storage tank owner must have on site right now. Quick delivery, simple installation and setup and high performance is the right solution at the right time. 30 years of worldwide experience and thousands of deployed sensors are worth considering when looking for a reliable leak detection solution.

Leakwise Sensor ID-223/500 installed in Bunded area:

Oil Storage Tanks – The New Reality under Covid-19

Leakwise, the fail-safe, worry-free choice.