OPA/T571. OFD Fuel Storage Tank Inspection Framework

The Oil and Pipelines Agency (OPA) is a public corporation, formed in 1986 by virtue of the Oil and Pipelines Act 1985 to operate and maintain the Government Pipeline and Storage System (GPSS) on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

There are 6 Oil Fuel Depots (OFD's) in the UK owned by the MoD but operated and managed by OPA. The OFD's principle role is to receive, store and issue middle distillate fuels to support Naval Command.

The two OFD's located in Southern England at Gosport and Thanckes support the adjacent HM Naval Bases namely Portsmouth and Devonport. The Scottish site at Garelochhead supports Faslane Naval Base, whilst OFD's at Loch Striven, Loch Ewe and Campbeltown provide bulk storage and regional support to visiting Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers and warships. All sites are supplied by sea.

The requirement of this Procurement exercise is to procure a suitable Contractor to execute works required for bulk fuel tank inspections

Inspection of the OFD storage tanks shall generally be time based at the recommended intervals, inspection of the vessels the primary means of confirming that a tank is for return to service, for a defined period of time. It allows the condition of the tank and its ancillaries to be assessed, measuring how they have performed under service conditions since the previous out of work inspection, and also detail the works necessary to bring the tank back to an acceptable condition to enable return to service.

In summary the works are identified as:

• Review of previous inspection reports/data,
• Internal lining inspection (including visual and spark test),
• Inspection of floor plates (scanned),
• Ultrasonic testing of tank shell,
• Inspection of all visible welds,
• Visual inspection of tank roof and nozzles,
• Provide a detailed report of the inspection.