Category Archives: Projects

Terminal Pipeline Station Expansion

SPEC provided project development, engineering, drafting, procurement, and construction support for the addition of a second pipeline into a refined products terminal pipeline station. SPEC’s scope was to evaluate the existing terminal pipeline station and install a new pipeline manifold system (i.e. meters, surge relief system, general station piping, prover, sample system, instrumentation, pipe supports, tank supply manifold, etc.) to handle the new and existing supply pipelines into the terminal and allow for operations to receive refined products from both pipelines into terminal storage tanks.

Services Provided: Project Management, Process Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Instrumentation and Controls, Mechanical Engineering, Design and Drafting, Procurement Support, Construction Management

Client: Major Oil Company

Project Location: Southwest, USA

Tags: Automated Valve, Foundations, Gasoline, Hydraulic Calculations, Instrumentation & Control, Manifold, Pipe Supports, Pipeline, Power System Design, Relief Devices, Surge Relief

Hydrogen Pipeline Connection

SPEC provided project development, engineering, permitting, drafting, procurement, and construction support for the installation of a new hydrogen pipeline connection to serve as a second hydrogen supply option for the Refinery. SPEC’s role included assisting in the definition of the overall project scope, permitting, conversion of an existing pipeline right of way for the new meter site, the design of a new pipeline connection, the design of a hot tap procedure with vendor, and the design of an overpressure protection system to protect the Refinery’s piping from any pipeline surges. Electrical power was not available at the meter site, requiring the connection and overpressure protection system to be manually operated and/or operate independently.

Services Provided: Project Management and Design, Process Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Instrumentation and Controls, Mechanical Engineering, Design and Drafting, Procurement Support, Construction Management

Client: Major Oil Company

Project Location: Southwest, USA

Tags: Foundations, Hot Tap, Hydraulic Calculations, Hydrogen, Instrumentation & Control, Outdoor Switchrack Design, Permitting, Pipe Supports, Pipeline, Refinery, Relief Devices

Tank Conversion & Ethanol Blending System

SPEC provided project development, engineering, permitting, drafting, procurement, and construction support for the conversion of an existing tank into ethanol service and installation of a new ethanol offload and loading system at a storage terminal. SPEC’s role included assisting in the definition of the overall project scope, permitting, design of the fire protection system for the load rack, design of a new ethanol offloading and loading system (i.e. pumps, meters, control valves, piping, supports, etc.), and design of a new overhead pipe rack for supply lines to load rack.

Client: Major Oil Company

Project Location: Northwest, USA

Tags: Automated Valve, Ethanol, Ethanol Blending, Fire Protection, Flow Control, Foundations, Gasoline, Hydraulic Calculations, Instrumentation & Control, Load Rack, Manifold, Outdoor Switchrack Design, Permitting, Pipe Bridge, Pipe Supports, Pump, Relief Devices, Storage Tank

Storage Tank Design & Inspection

SPEC has an extensive catalog of projects related to storage tanks including the design and specification of API Std 650 petroleum tanks for marketing and pipeline facilities. Our tank design services include foundation design, tank drawings and specifications, tank cathodic protection specification, fire protection design, tank instrumentation, tank internal / external coatings, tank emission calculations, and local permitting. We have API 653-certified tank inspectors who we utilize to assist clients in overseeing or managing their tank inspection program, performing suitability for service evaluations, similar service evaluations, or design of tank repairs, tank conversions, or tank retrofits. New tank designs incorporate APIs RPB/RPS and local or state requirements for tank bottom environmental protection requirements. SPEC has designed double bottoming of existing tanks and worked with AR Watson and others on tank lifting and tank jacking for foundation repair / replacement, tank movement on or off site, and for tank movement to facilitate environmental remediation.

Services Provided: Tank Engineering, Inspection Program Assistance

Client: Various Major Oil & ILTA Member Companies, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Companies

Project Locations: Continental USA, Guam, CNMI

Tags: API Std 653, Environmental, Fire Protection, Foundations, HAZOP, Permitting, Pipeline, Risk Assessment, Storage Tank

HAZOP & Scenario-Based Risk Assessment

SPEC provided client certified Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) and Scenario-Based Risk Assessment (SBRA) facilitation services on pipeline and terminal projects throughout the US. The facilitators were senior SPEC employees highly knowledgeable in the design and operation of storage and pipeline facilities. The facilitator’s job was to develop a pre-review charter, perform a readiness review with the client risk group, obtain client sponsor approvals, provide documentation to the team members prior to the review, facilitate the HAZOP or SBRA and produce a report after team approval of the findings. HAZOP facilitation services were performed for capital projects, process changes, and 5-year site wide reviews. SBRA facilitation services were performed for evaluation of specific deviations from standards or for items identified in the field as a potential risk.

Services Provided: HAZOP and Risk Assessment Facilitation

Client: Major Oil and Chemical Companies

Project Location: Continental USA

Tags: HAZOP, Pipeline, Risk Assessment

Backup Refinery Supply

SPEC provided the engineering and construction support for the installation of four new 200-foot diameter agitated tanks at a client’s terminal. SPEC’s scope included permitting in a wetlands area, tie-in to a pipeline manifold, installation of new mainline pumps, tank agitators, custody transfer quality flow meters, meter prover and electrical building in addition to the installation of the new tanks. The new tanks served as backup supply of crude oil to feed a refinery in the event of a pipeline supply outage.

Client: Major Oil Company

Project Location: Midwest, USA

Functional Safety Project

SPEC provided engineering support for safety upgrades to an existing reactant delivery system. The existing system had the potential to add reactant too quickly, which could lead to runaway reactions. SPEC’s evaluation of the process identified that the installation of two pressure control valves on the reactant loop and installation of restriction plate orifices at each reactor created functional safety for the system by physically limiting the addition rate below the runaway reaction threshold without crippling production rates. With the relatively minor changes, flow was limited to 100% design flow rates under ideal conditions and only limited to 90% design flow rates under less-than-ideal conditions. SPEC was able to provide our client with a significantly more economical option that was installed within several months, rather than waiting more than a year for a full duplicate backup control system and instrumentation.

Services Provided: Project Management and Design, Process Engineering, Instrumentation and Controls, Mechanical Engineering, Safety, Procurement Support, Construction Management

Client: Major Chemicals Company

Project Location: Northeast, USA

Tags: Automated Valve, Environmental, Flow Control, HAZOP, Hydraulic Calculations, Instrumentation & Control, Meter Skid, Phenol, Pipe Supports, Pressure Control, Relief Devices, Risk Assessment, Safety

Existing Tank Farm Retrofit

SPEC provided multidisciplined engineering services (mechanical, civil, electrical and API Std 653 inspection) of two jet fuel tank farms. The Client had two aging tank farms located in different cities. The existing configuration had excess tankage, aging infrastructure, and permeable secondary containment. The Client could allow for shutdown of one site at a time to complete the work. SPEC reconfigured each tank farm to four main product tanks and two day tanks for storage of Jet A & JP-8. A new single bay loading/unloading rack was added, new piping and pumps, new tank instrumentation and pump control system, impervious liner (under tank and diked area), new stormwater collection and OWS treatment system. SPEC worked with the Contractor to move the tanks out of the area and relocate onto new foundations within the consolidated footprint.

Services Provided: Multi-disciplined engineering

Client: Multinational Industrial

Project Location: Northeast, USA

Tags: API Std 653, Instrumentation & Control, Oil Water Separator, PLC/Automation System Design, Power System Design, Pump, Secondary Containment, Storage Tank, Stormwater

Ethylene Pipeline Connection

SPEC provided support for the reactivation of an existing 3rd Party Customer ethylene pipeline into a 3rd Party plant. SPEC’s role included assisting in the definition of the overall project scope, cost estimation, project scheduling, procurement and permitting. SPEC designed new pipeline equipment and a pressure relief system, installed a new MOV and power supply along the client right-of-way (ROW) to a new connection site, and installed a new outdoor switchrack system within the client ROW and at the 3rd Party Customer plant. SPEC’s design allowed for a new power supply and instrument and control system to fit within the limited space along the Client ROW for the new pipeline connection.

Client: Major Oil Company

Project Location: Southwest, USA

Tags: Automated Valve, Ethylene, Foundations, Hydraulic Calculations, Instrumentation & Control, Outdoor Switchrack Design, Permitting, Power System Design

Ethanol Blending Services

E10, E15 & E20 Rack Based Ethanol Blending

Since the replacement of gasoline oxygenates such as MTBE with ethanol, SPEC has been designing loading rack-based ethanol blending systems for Clients & Facilities throughout the US. SPEC provided multidisciplined engineering services (process, mechanical, civil, electrical) for receipt, storage, piping & pumps for ethanol for blending with gasoline at the truck loading rack. Ethanol blending has gone through several iterations including wild stream and side stream. SPEC has completed stick built retrofits, skid-based retrofits and new multi-arm load rack skids for ethanol blending. SPEC has recently completed upgrading 24 terminals for E15 to E20 blending. The design utilizes VFDs to control pump discharge for E10, E15 or E20 blending without a reduction in loading rack flow rate. Ethanol systems included unloading of ethanol from marine barges, rail cars and trucks.

Services Provided: Multi-disciplined engineering, local permitting, environmental permitting and on-site construction support and inspection

Client: Major Oil Companies

Project Locations: Continental USA

Tags: Ethanol Blending, Instrumentation & Control, Load Rack, Marine, Permitting, Pump, Terminal