Barnshaws Polska has supplied over 2100 tonnes of rolled steel plates to support the construction of a crude oil storage tank in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic.
The new tank is part of a large central crude oil tank farm, which holds emergency reserves of oil and provides interim storage before the refining process.
The Nelahozeves central crude oil tank farm stores oil transported by the Druzhba, the world’s longest oil pipeline, and the Ingolstadt–Kralupy–Litvínov (IKL) pipeline, which originates in Germany. The site features multiple steel storage tanks ranging in capacity from 50,000 m3 to 125,000 m3, all installed above ground with floating roofs. This allows the site to hold up to 1 550 000 m3 of oil, which could cover 90 days of oil delivery shortage in the Czech Republic.
With growing demand for energy, the site has been continually expanded since its opening in 1994. Metrostav a.s., the largest Czech construction and steel fabrication company, was approached in 2018 regarding the addition of a new storage tank. As a large quantity of precision curved steel plate was required, Metrostav a.s. contacted Barnshaws Polska, the world’s most capable metal bending company.
Maciej Walkowicz, Director at Barnshaws Polska, explained the project: “Our location allows us to offer the full range of Barnshaws metal bending services across Europe, with additional support from the UK. In this case, we were required to roll 531 steel plates ranging in thickness from 10 mm up to 39 mm, in widths from 2 m to 3 m and 10 m in length. There was a range of toe-in and toe-out bends across the plates. All in all, this amounted to 2,100 tonnes of precision curved steel.”
The completed tank would measure over 84 metres in diameter. Despite its large size, the tolerance on this tank diameter was 10-15mm. Constructed from hundreds of plates of varying thickness, ensuring precision during the bending process was vital. This would allow tank assembly to be carried out efficiently by Metrostav.
ensured that the tank could be easily assembled to a high-quality level. Metrostav was pleased with this outcome and now relies on us to provide precision curved plate to support other projects. We are used to the requirements of working with large customers, from both a quality and quantity perspective.”
Barnshaws Polska offers its customers access to an extensive metal bending capacity, including plate rolling machines. This ensured that the large order could be serviced effectively. The business regularly supplies curved metal to the construction, transport, marine, oil & gas and power generation sectors.
When the new storage tank is complete, the Nelahozeves central crude oil tank farm will offer the Czech Republic increased energy security.