As oil producers dial back production in response to the demand collapse, the challenge of excess supply and where to store it remains. The storage shortage has producers shutting in wells and traders looking in every nook and cranny for spare capacity. As full rail tankers and VLCCs congregate in refinery yards and ports, other forms of temporary storage are now on the front lines of offering relief.

“Our industry requires innovation and flexibility, to try new things and do things differently when it is needed,” Mitchell Shauf, executive vice president of water solutions at Select Energy Services Inc., shared with Hart Energy. “One of our strengths is adapting to rapidly changing market conditions like the one we are in now.”

Select, for example, modified its above-ground storage tanks (AST) for crude oil storage. This application of an established fluid storage system is designed to provide operators with a temporary and safe option to store and treat large volumes of crude oil, according to the company.

“Historically, our ASTs have been used for water storage,” he said. “We’re the largest provider of ASTs in North America, and with oil storage reaching full capacity, we felt we could provide a solution. So, we determined that our ASTs could potentially be used, with some modification, to store crude oil.”

The ASTs, typically used as an alternative to in-ground impoundments or frac tanks for fluids storage, are being refitted with specialized petroleum-resistant liners and lids designed to enable them to be used for oil storage.

“The tank structures themselves are the same whether or not you’re storing water or oil,” he said. “We are replacing the existing liner with one that is tougher, more durable, UV resistant, and puncture-resistant. It is a more robust liner than what would be needed for water storage. The lids need to be fitted with a vapor capture system for connection to an operator’s vapor recovery system.”

The liners are a flexible geomembrane reinforced with closely-knit polyester fully encapsulated between two layers of UV stabilized linear low-density polyethylene and meet NSF/ANSI Standard 61, according to the company.

Available in sizes ranging from 9,000 bbl up to 60,000 bbl, their most common size has a capacity of 40,000 bbl. The company currently has more than 150 of these larger capacity tanks and is receiving multiple inquiries daily, Shauf noted.

“For a single tank, you’re looking at about a day to get it moved and set up,” he said. “We operate in 12 states and have ASTs positioned in most of those. We do think we’ll see some storage capacity needed in the northeast. But by and large, the biggest part or the biggest demand will be Texas and Oklahoma.”

Produced crude that is stored over an extended period may encounter temperature and pressure changes. Select’s in-house chemical and logistics provider, Rockwater Energy Solutions, can chemically treat the stored oil to help prevent precipitation of paraffin and potential congealing.

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