LPG BULLETS
OUT OF SIGHT ONSITE

LPG BULLETS
OUT OF SITE ONSITE

When construction of the refinery is complete, there is one package that will be indiscernible to the naked eye. The LPG bullets.

As mentioned, the Duqm Refinery project is a joint venture between Samsung Engineering and Petrofac, and the bullets package is one of those being led by the South Korean company.

The site has nine bullet tanks that house LPG on site, and these are installed underground and covered with earth for safety reasons. This also means the thickness and size of the bullet is not only governed by internal pressure, but also outside pressure – the weight of the earth pressing on the vessel.

”Undignihil moluptae plabo atiunt lanis quidel iuscius ciisque.”

WORDS CHRISTINA McPHERSON

PUBLISHED AUGUST 2020

Shells

Shape

Weight

Rings

We explore the different components and parts that make up the package.
Click on the crosses for more information.

Shells
The bullets are 64 m in length and 8 m in diameter. They are made up of 2-3 m shells (around 20) which are rolled and welded together.

Shape
The bullets are mounded, horizontal cylindrical steel vessels. Mounded bullets allow storage of large quantities of LPG.

Rings
The external pressure of the earth on the vessel needs to be considered in the design. There are 19 internal ‘rings’ inside the bullets which helps to support sustained pressure inside and outside.

Weight
Each bullet weighs about 800 tonnes.

Anatomy of a bullet

The bullets follow the standard ASME design code, as well as new code EEMUA-190 – which is a little more unusual. The new code applies to the outside pressure of the vessel, and ensuring the right weight and thickness of the vessel was key for the vendor and engineering team.

The bullets were fabricated in Sohar, Oman by Indian manufacturer, L&T. They are even bigger than the drums at 64 metres in length and eight metres in diameter. Each bullet weighs almost 800 tonnes.

The extraordinary scale meant that they had to be delivered to Duqm by barge. They were transported in batches of three. While the port is only about 20 km from site, the bullets then took around two days to be delivered via SPMT. The last three arrived at site at the end of February – just before coronavirus could impact the delivery of the package.

The schedule was one of the most challenging aspects of the package, however Samsung’s buyer and the vendor would speak every two days, and the package was delivered on time.