LNG Canada raises roof on storage tank
LNG Canada, the Anglo-Dutch Shell-led consortium building Canada’s first LNG export terminal on BC’s northern coast near Kitimat, said August 23 it had successfully completed the roof raise on the facility’s first 225,000-m3 storage tank – one of the largest in the world.
In a process that took less than three hours the morning of August 7 to complete, the 1,540-tonne steel roof was raised 56 m from ground level using light air pressure – just 22 millibars, or about 0.32 lbs/in2, and less than 1% of the pressure needed to fill a car tire.
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The roof – 92 m in diameter – was initially raised only a few meters to ensure pressure seals inside the tank were holding and that the roof was balanced. Once the roof was raised into position, more than two dozen welders secured it in place and the air pressure inside the tank was released.
“The tank is now roughly 40% finished,” said Naman Maheshwari, project lead for the tank’s construction. “The critical path now moves from civil works to mechanical, and provides the opportunity to open more work fronts inside the tank.”
Eventually, the roof will be encased in concrete, matching the walls of the tank, and an inner tank made of a 9% nickel alloy steel will be installed.