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Project Summary - Tank 14 Bund
The Shell Company of Australia is one of the largest oil refining companies in Australia. To keep up with demand in Southeast Queensland it was necessary for Shell to increase the capacity of their tank farm in Pinkenba. As part of this expansion an additional ULP storage tank (Tank 14) was constructed. Following involvement in the construction of the tank foundations, McIlwain Civil was engaged to reconstruct the tank bund surrounding Tank 14 as well as a future tank site.
Works included bulk earthworks and pavements to facilitate the installation of 11,000m 2 of fully welded HDPE liner to contain any potential spills from the new tanks. The base of the existing bund contained significant amounts of contaminated and geotechnically unsuitable material which was removed under strict environmental guidelines. McIlwain Civil proposed the use of a high tensile geogrid to reduce the amount of unsuitable material which required removal thus saving significant costs for the client. The pavement profile included a roadbase working platform, carefully graded fine sand and smooth river gravel. Materials were carefully chosen to ensure that they would not have the potential to damage the HDPE liner. Construction techniques employed also included significant amounts of hand work and smaller machinery to maintain the integrity of the liner. As part of the contract the existing bunds were reprofiled and extended to increase the storage capacity of the bund. Due to the steep batter slopes of the bunds this required specialist machinery to ensure sufficient compaction. The bunds were then sealed with a two coat bitumen seal which was placed by hand. The challenges of working inside an operating fuel and gas storage facility meant that safety and environmental controls were top priority. The culture of the project team and implementation of strict management control ensured that the project was completed without incident. Project Synopsis View images from the project below - click on a thumbnail for a larger version
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Project Summary 22-09 Tank 14 (407 KB)
Client
Shell Australia Ltd
Location
Shell Tank Farm, Pinkenba
Contractual Completion Date
January 2010
Original Contract Value
$940,000