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There is a little bit more to an oil tank than just steel walls. You need proper foundations, fire prevention systems, disaster plans, probably get hooked up to
by WJW 7y ago
There is a little bit more to an oil tank than just steel walls. You need proper foundations, fire prevention systems, disaster plans, probably get hooked up to the pipeline network, etc etc etc. Even if it were quick, the amount of oil being pumped up is massive and you need more than a few tanks to store it all. Finally, tanks are long term infrastructure and it might not be profitable to build out storage too much just in the hope of catching once-in-a-lifetime negative pricing events.
- jmccaf 7y agoYeah, it's worth building these tanks safely. There was tank fire last year in Bay Area after a quake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=KMZjfWRXgTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=KMZjfWRXgTs Even if there is different level of risk and safety concern, and air quality regulation in rural Oklahoma vs urban CA bordering a highway, these can catch fire dramatically. One point made when that fire occurred was that the tanks are placed in earthen basins, so that when tank fails, the flaming fuel just fills the basin, minimizing risk of spreading to neighboring tanks.
- kens 7y agoSpeaking of oil tank fire prevention, videos of foam fire suppression systems are pretty impressive. A gasoline tank fire goes from massive flames billowing into the sky to totally extinguished in 40 seconds. For example: https://youtu.be/OxLPvNdv2t4?t=210 https://youtu.be/OxLPvNdv2t4?t=210