An Interactive 5-Day Training Course
Storage Tanks: Design, Operation and Inspection (API 650/653)
Practical guide to storage tank design and inspection.
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Duration
5 Days
Price
$ 4,000
Starting From
06 Sep 2027
Storage Tanks: Design, Operation and Inspection (API 650/653)
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Storage Tanks: Design, Operation and Inspection (API 650/653) - SF-STDOI-PEA27
| Code | Date | Time | Duration | Location | Currency | Early Bird Fee Per Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF-STDOI-PEA27 | 06 - 10 Sep 2027 | 10 AM CST | 5 Days - 4 Hours / Day |
Online |
USD |
4000 |
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Storage Tanks: Design, Operation and Inspection (API 650/653)
This training covers atmospheric storage tanks through their full life. It works through API 650 design requirements including shell thickness, bottom and roof construction, floating roof systems, venting and blanketing, foundations and settlement, then covers operation, overfill protection and fire safety, corrosion mechanisms, and inspection, evaluation, repair and alteration under API 653.
Description
Storage tanks hold the largest hydrocarbon inventories on most sites in the thinnest containment of any equipment class. A tank shell is a few millimetres of plate holding thousands of cubic metres of product, its bottom sits on soil and cannot be inspected without taking the tank out of service, and its roof is either a fixed structure with a vapour space that can reach explosive composition or a floating structure whose seals and drains determine whether it stays afloat. The industry's tank incident record reflects this: overfills, bottom leaks, rim seal fires, full surface fires and roof sinkings recur across regions and operators.
This training covers the engineering that controls those outcomes. Design content follows API 650, covering shell thickness calculation by the one-foot and variable design point methods, bottom and annular plate requirements, roof types and their selection, wind and seismic loading, nozzle design and foundation requirements. Floating roof systems are covered in detail, including pontoon and double deck construction, seal systems, roof drains, legs and appurtenances. Operation is addressed through venting, blanketing, overfill protection, filling rate limits, static control, water draw and sludge management. Corrosion mechanisms in bottoms, shells, roofs and vapour spaces follow. The training closes with inspection, evaluation and repair under API 653, covering inspection types and intervals, thickness evaluation, settlement assessment, bottom evaluation, repair and alteration requirements and reconstruction.
Storage tanks hold the largest hydrocarbon inventories on most sites in the thinnest containment of any equipment class. A tank shell is a few millimetres of plate holding thousands of cubic metres of product, its bottom sits on soil and cannot be inspected without taking the tank out of service, and its roof is either a fixed structure with a vapour space that can reach explosive composition or a floating structure whose seals and drains determine whether it stays afloat. The industry's tank incident record reflects this: overfills, bottom leaks, rim seal fires, full surface fires and roof sinkings recur across regions and operators.
This training covers the engineering that controls those outcomes. Design content follows API 650, covering shell thickness calculation by the one-foot and variable design point methods, bottom and annular plate requirements, roof types and their selection, wind and seismic loading, nozzle design and foundation requirements. Floating roof systems are covered in detail, including pontoon and double deck construction, seal systems, roof drains, legs and appurtenances. Operation is addressed through venting, blanketing, overfill protection, filling rate limits, static control, water draw and sludge management. Corrosion mechanisms in bottoms, shells, roofs and vapour spaces follow. The training closes with inspection, evaluation and repair under API 653, covering inspection types and intervals, thickness evaluation, settlement assessment, bottom evaluation, repair and alteration requirements and reconstruction.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Apply API 650 design requirements to atmospheric storage tank shell, bottom and roof design
- Calculate shell thickness using the one-foot and variable design point methods and apply corrosion allowance
- Select roof type and configuration against product vapour pressure, emissions requirements and service conditions
- Specify floating roof systems including pontoon configuration, seals, drains, legs and appurtenances
- Design venting, blanketing and emergency relief for normal and fire exposure conditions
- Apply overfill protection requirements including level measurement, independent alarms and API 2350 principles
- Identify corrosion mechanisms affecting tank bottoms, shells, roofs and vapour spaces and specify appropriate control
- Plan inspections under API 653 including in-service and out-of-service scope, methods and intervals
- Evaluate thickness, settlement and bottom condition against API 653 acceptance criteria and specify repairs
The training follows the tank through design, construction, operation, inspection and repair, with code requirements introduced at the point they apply and worked through using the actual calculation methods. Participants perform shell thickness, venting requirement, settlement evaluation and remaining life calculations. Tank construction, floating roof arrangements, seal systems and foundation details are presented through drawings and photographs from operating tank farms. Inspection content is developed against real inspection reports, thickness data sets and settlement surveys, and tank failure case histories covering overfill, bottom leak, roof sinking and rim seal fire are examined for the control that failed.
Organisations sending participants to this training will:
- Reduce the risk of overfill, tank fire and loss of containment from storage facilities
- Improve compliance with API 650, API 653 and API 2350 requirements and associated regulatory expectations
- Extend tank service life through better corrosion control and earlier detection of bottom deterioration
- Optimise inspection intervals and reduce unnecessary out-of-service time
- Improve the technical quality of tank repair, alteration and reconstruction specification
- Reduce product losses and emissions from storage operations
Participants will:
- Apply API 650 and API 653 requirements to design, inspection and repair decisions
- Evaluate tank thickness, settlement and bottom condition against code acceptance criteria
- Specify floating roof, venting, blanketing and overfill protection systems correctly
- Recognise the deterioration mechanisms that determine tank remaining life
- Plan and scope tank inspections and interpret inspection reports critically
- Build specialist capability in an asset class with high consequence and long service life
- Inspection, integrity and mechanical engineers responsible for storage tanks
- Facilities, process and project engineers involved in tank design and modification
- Terminal and tank farm operations personnel and supervisors
- Maintenance engineers and planners supporting storage assets
- Corrosion and materials engineers working on storage systems
- HSE and process safety practitioners covering storage facilities
- Technical staff managing tank inspection and repair contracts
Module 1 - Storage Tanks in the Facility
- Function and service of storage tanks in production, terminal and processing facilities
- Tank types: fixed roof, external floating roof, internal floating roof, low pressure
- Product characteristics and their effect on tank selection: vapour pressure, temperature, corrosivity
- Code framework: API 650, API 620, API 653, API 2350, API 575, API 651, API 652
- Regulatory and environmental requirements affecting storage
- Tank farm layout, spacing and separation requirements
- Inventory management and tank service assignment
Module 2 - API 650 Design: Shell and Bottom
- Design basis: product, specific gravity, design liquid level, design temperature
- Shell thickness calculation by the one-foot method
- Variable design point method and its application
- Corrosion allowance and design life
- Shell course arrangement, plate sizes and weld details
- Materials selection and toughness requirements
- Bottom plate arrangement, lap and butt welded construction
- Annular plate requirements and sizing
- Bottom slope: cone up, cone down, single slope
- Shell to bottom joint design
Module 3 - API 650 Design: Roofs, Nozzles and Loading
- Fixed roof types: supported cone, self-supporting cone, dome, umbrella
- Frangible roof joint design and its safety function
- Roof structure, rafters, girders and columns
- Wind load, wind girders and shell stability
- Seismic design requirements and anchorage
- Nozzle design, reinforcement and flexibility
- Shell manways, cleanout openings and roof fittings
- Stairways, platforms and access design
- Anchor bolts, chairs and uplift resistance
- Fabrication, erection and construction quality control
Module 4 - Floating Roof Systems
- External floating roof types: pontoon, double deck
- Internal floating roof types: pan, pontoon, full contact
- Buoyancy requirements, drainage load and roof design
- Rim seal systems: mechanical shoe, liquid mounted, vapour mounted, secondary seals
- Seal performance, emissions and inspection
- Roof drains: articulated, flexible hose, siphon, emergency drains
- Roof drain failures and their consequences
- Roof legs, leg settings and bottom protection
- Rolling ladders, gauge poles, guide poles and seals on fittings
- Anti-rotation devices, vents and bleeder vents
- Roof landing, refloating and their hazards
- Roof sinking mechanisms and prevention
Module 5 - Venting, Blanketing and Emissions
- Normal venting requirements: thermal and pumping in and out
- Emergency venting for fire exposure
- Pressure and vacuum relief valve selection and sizing
- Free vents, flame arrestors and their maintenance
- Blanketing systems: fuel gas, nitrogen, control and reliability
- Vapour recovery and vapour balancing
- Breathing, working and standing loss calculation
- Emissions estimation and reporting
- Loss reduction options and their evaluation
- Vacuum damage and its causes
Module 6 - Tank Operation and Overfill Protection
- Filling and emptying operations and rate limits
- Level measurement systems: servo, radar, hydrostatic, float
- Independent high level alarm and overfill protection requirements
- API 2350 overfill protection levels and procedures
- Receipt operations, tank switching and line displacement
- Static electricity, filling velocity limits and switch loading
- Water draw-off procedures and hazards
- Tank gauging, inventory accounting and loss control
- Sludge accumulation, mixers and tank cleaning
- Product changeover and tank preparation
Module 7 - Tank Farm Safety and Fire Protection
- Tank fire scenarios: rim seal fire, vent fire, full surface fire, bund fire
- Boilover mechanism and its conditions
- Foam systems: types, application rates, fixed and mobile
- Cooling water application and firewater demand
- Bunding, secondary containment and drainage design
- Spacing, separation and layout requirements
- Tank entry, cleaning and confined space hazards
- Hot work on and around tanks
- Emergency response planning for tank incidents
- Lessons from major tank farm incidents
Module 8 - Corrosion and Deterioration Mechanisms
- Bottom soil side corrosion and its drivers
- Bottom product side corrosion and under-deposit attack
- Shell internal corrosion at the water interface and vapour space
- Shell external and atmospheric corrosion
- Roof and underside of roof corrosion in fixed roof tanks
- Microbiologically influenced corrosion in tank bottoms
- Cathodic protection of tank bottoms under API 651
- Internal linings and coatings under API 652
- Release prevention barriers, liners and leak detection
- Foundation deterioration and moisture ingress
Module 9 - API 653 Inspection
- API 653 scope, responsibilities and inspector qualification
- Inspection types: routine in-service, external, internal, ultrasonic thickness
- Inspection intervals and their determination
- External inspection scope and findings
- Internal inspection scope, preparation and safety
- Thickness measurement: shell, bottom, roof, and measurement point selection
- Bottom inspection methods: magnetic flux leakage, ultrasonic, vacuum box testing
- Weld examination and defect detection
- Settlement survey methods and data collection
- Foundation, anchorage and appurtenance inspection
- Inspection records, reporting and documentation requirements
Module 10 - API 653 Evaluation, Repair and Alteration
- Shell thickness evaluation and minimum acceptable thickness calculation
- Corrosion rate determination and next inspection interval calculation
- Localised thinning, pitting and their evaluation criteria
- Bottom minimum thickness and remaining life assessment
- Settlement evaluation: uniform, planar tilt, edge and localised settlement
- Acceptance criteria for settlement and shell distortion
- Repair methods: patch plates, lap patches, shell replacement, bottom replacement
- Hot tap and welding on in-service tanks
- Alteration, reconstruction and relocation requirements
- Hydrostatic testing requirements after repair
- Fitness for service assessment and re-rating
- Repair documentation and record keeping
Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.
Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.
This course is led by a storage tank engineering specialist with more than 20 years in the oil and gas industry, built on designing, operating and inspecting atmospheric storage tanks to code.
He currently holds storage tank engineering leadership responsibility with a major operator managing tank farms and storage terminals, covering shell and bottom construction, floating roof systems and inspection under API 653 — the disciplines that keep storage tanks safe across their full operating life. Earlier in his career he served as a mechanical engineer on major storage terminal developments, leading tank design and inspection work to API 650 and API 653 standards on some of the industry's largest storage facilities. Across two decades he has taken several storage tank programmes from design through operation into structured, code-compliant inspection.
That operating background shapes how he teaches. Delegates learn not only how storage tanks are designed to code, but how they behave over their operating life — where corrosion mechanisms actually take hold, why venting and overfill protection systems fail, what causes foundation and settlement issues, how floating roof systems perform under real conditions, and how design and inspection teams manage evaluation and repair under API 653 together. Every module is anchored in real tank inspection data, design decisions and lessons from operating storage facilities.
His subject coverage spans the full storage tank chain: API 650 design requirements, shell and bottom construction, roof types and floating roof systems, venting and overfill protection, foundations and settlement, corrosion mechanisms, and inspection, evaluation and repair under API 653.
He has delivered storage tank design and inspection training for many years across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, working with mixed groups of mechanical engineers, inspection engineers and technical management at every level of experience. He is an active contributor to industry forums on storage tank engineering and integrity.
His approach is practical, discussion-led and grounded in real storage tank experience — not the textbook.
Frequently Asked Questions
All course bookings made through PEA are strictly non-refundable. By registering for a course, you acknowledge and accept that all fees are payable in full and are not subject to refund under any circumstances, including changes in personal or professional commitments or partial attendance.
PEA reserves the right to make reasonable adjustments to course content, trainers, or schedules where necessary, without entitling delegates to a refund. Comprehensive details of each course — including objectives, target audience, and content — are clearly outlined before enrolment, and it is the responsibility of the delegate to ensure the course's suitability prior to booking.
For any inquiries related to cancellations or bookings, please contact our support team, who will be happy to assist you.
