Hellenic Petroleum is one of the largest refiners in south-eastern Europe and operates three refineries. The Aspropyrgos oil refinery is a complex type and one of the most modern in Europe. Located near the refinery is the Megara tank farm, an essential crude oil supply hub. Due to corrosion on the roof of tank 8770-B, it required rehabilitation and repair. As the tank had to remain in service, Cold Work repair with SPS (in other words, a ‘no hot work’ repair) was chosen as the most viable solution.

In total, 45m² [480 ft²] of corroded steel was repaired, reinstating structural integrity and preventing rainwater ingress into the floating roof pontoon. The safe, non-disruptive nature of the repairs with SPS allowed the tank to be repaired in service and avoid substantial out-of-service expense that a traditional crop and replace tank repair would have required and kept personnel out of harm’s way. The existing steel pontoon plating was used as one side of the composite sandwich. The composite is constructed by attaching perimeter bars (steel flat bar sections) to the existing plating using structural adhesive and then using the same material to secure the new top plate to the perimeter bars to form a shallow watertight cavity into which two mixed chemicals are injected to fill the void completely. The chemicals react within approximately 10 minutes to form a solid elastomer core that permanently bonds with the two plates. The resulting composite permanently restores and enhances the strength of the original structure. The process is extremely safe and quick and uses a fraction of the man-hours required for a conventional repair.

Ready to enhance your tank’s structural integrity with innovative offshore tank repair solutions? Contact us to discuss SPS Cold Work and our above ground storage tank repair options.