By the LightningDiva@Large

This article originally appeared in Tank Storage Magazine,  May/June 2014

Lightning, Mother Nature’s own explosive and unpredictable mega-Taser which can be deceptively breathtaking, but deadly and destructive, is once again upon us. So I say to you, “Tank Storage around the World, Pay Attention!”

Whether downstream or upstream, oil and gas, chemical manufacturing or exploration, if you house and store volatile and combustible liquids you should not only be considering, but implementing risk mitigation plans for lightning protection including grounding engineering and surge protection; not one or the other, but “all of the above”.  A direct lightning strike is not the only issue to contemplate. Sure, if a strike hits a tank it will more than likely explode so, yes it is extremely important.  However, a strike which hits near your tank and is carried through the ground and/or pipes and wiring buried in the surrounding area can do as much damage.  Without proper grounding engineering or surge protection, the tank can still explode and your critical electronics and operations can be impacted. This damage can be incurred immediately or in the future, if one factors in meantime-between-failure scenarios.  Lightning is tricky and devious and most assuredly will affect your facility one way or the other should it strike anywhere within the vicinity. The secret is not having it strike within an area that needs protection.

While we can track and even have advanced warning for storm cells in the area, we cannot predict where lightning will strike. The odds of an individual getting struck by lightning in a year are about 1 in 775,000, according to statistics from the National Weather Service.  1 in 10,000 in one’s lifetime, but citing statistics like these, does not account for structures, nor can it. A structure has a much greater chance of getting struck due to its composition, height and several other factors. So imagine, if an individual’s odds are that great, what are a structure’s odds? But frankly, the odds do not matter, once your facility is hit, it is too late; the damage can be  millions of dollars, not including regulatory fines, legal ramifications and the loss of life.

 

Lightning is on the Rise

Over the past two years, my colleagues and our customers have noticed what appears to be an increase in lightning all over the world. Places that did not have much lightning before seemed to have more storms and places that usually had frequent lightning events, started to get pummeled by stronger and more frequent strikes. Starting in the summer of 2012 we noted more lightning across the UK and Europe. Subsequently, in Australia, which has always been known for heavy storms, was inundated with much stronger and more deadly storms. We discussed this with some of our associate scientists across the country, but they said that the data did not support this.

Upon hearing this we ignored it as an anomaly since there was no scientific data. But again in the spring of 2013, we noticed that locations along the Gulf Coast, which of course do have frequent lightning events, started to get them earlier. Not only did they start sooner but they were more often, fiercer and unrelenting.  In April and May, there were three storage facilities hit in nine days.

Over the summer, more tank batteries exploded, but not in Texas and Louisiana and all the other usual Gulf Coast haunts, but in North Dakota, which historically did not have a lot of lightning. All of a sudden states like Oregon, Maine and New Hampshire were reporting some of the heaviest storms they had ever experienced in the history of the state. By summer’s end, the State of Washington also chimed in. It is now 2014 and we are already seeing signs of storms across the country starting as early as February. Once can question the scientific data, but one cannot dispute the actual activity.

In September, 2013 the New York Times published an article “Study Sees a Higher Risk of Storms on the Horizon” based on a study done by climate scientists from Stanford and Purdue Universities published earlier that year in April “Robust increases in severe thunderstorm environments in response to greenhouse forcing” again disputing the data which other scientists are using to measure increased lightning confusing the issue a little bit more.  We see it, the customers see it, other scientists and studies see it.

NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University researchers, Colin Price and David Rind, say in their article ‘Possible Implications Of Global Climate Change On Global Lightning‘ that future climate change could have significant repercussions on two related natural hazards: lightning and forest fires. Well, if lightning is increasing according to these fine institutions it is not only the forests that are in its trajectory.

While the scientific community is in conflict about this, increased lightning strikes are happening and will have a tremendous effect on many industries including oil and gas, utilities and energy, industrial facilities, manufacturing etc., causing physical damage, downtime and degradation to sensitive electronics and equipment. Therefore, it is apparent that any company and facility that stores flammable liquids should certainly stand up and take notice and ultimately prepare. The consequences are not pretty.

Downstream: Above Ground Storage Tanks

Lightning is an explosive, rapid event that releases large amounts of energy in just a few milliseconds with an unpredictable path. In a strike that terminates on or near a floating roof tank (FRT), for example, the current will flow in all directions and will vary in proportion to the lowest path of impedance. One unexpected arc across the roof-shell interface could ignite the fumes that are almost always present and, as a consequence, put that tank and an entire facility in immediate danger.

Fairly recent strikes to storage tanks in Texas, Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky show what has become the norm: one strike sparks a fire resulting in millions of dollars in lost profit, product, replacement costs, government oversight and downtime. In one incident, at an unprotected facility in Map Ta Phut, Thailand — the cost of this event was in the billions, and shut down the facility permanently.

A review of petroleum storage tank fires between 1951 and 2003 found an average of 15-20 fires per year are reported with about one-third attributed to lightning. Another study directed by oil industry companies found that “lightning is the most common source of ignition” in 52 of 55 rim seal fires studied. And the reality is that there are more tanks today than in 2003. More recently, Peter Mackay of Hazardous Cargo Bulletin, found that from 2003-2013, there were 87 tank fires and/or explosions definitely known to be caused by lightning across the world, in addition several others cited weather and/or were unknown initiators, but certainly could have been caused by lightning. This is an increase of at least three tanks per year, since the earlier study.

It is not just the direct strike against a facility that needs to be taken into consideration when determining protection. Beyond the hard costs like the loss of product, the downtime following a strike and the replacement costs of the facility, what about the soft costs? They notoriously pile up and are rarely considered.

While the total cost of damages is not easy to determine from incident to incident one point cannot be ignored: if the companies in question had an integrated lightning protection solution in place, the worries of lost profits or lawsuits would be minimal. The relatively small cost to protect against lightning – typically less than $30,000 per tank – could have saved companies which have not considered lightning protection systems many millions of dollars and in some cases, saved lives. For storage tanks, a remedy using a Dissipation Array System (DAS) and Retractable Grounding Assembly (RGA) in conjunction with appropriate surge protection has been the answer. Many Fortune 500 companies across the world implement this solution and swear by it. The concept is counter to the conventional lightning rod and favors prevention rather than collection by using Charge Transfer Technology (CTS) which, if you are handling and storing any substance that can explode, is much more preferable. Why would you invite lightning into your environment?

Upstream: Tank Batteries and Arc Discharge

Electrical discharge and the subsequent explosive detonation of the ullage inside chemical storage tanks is another hot topic. In recent years there has been a growing trend in the use of fiberglass and lined storage tanks in the oil and gas industry especially with the increase of fracking. The majority of these tanks are used at remote well sites and salt water disposal sites located throughout the United States. According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), fiberglass tanks should not be used for oil production but, because of the corrosive nature of this production process, fiberglass tanks are typically the preferred storage method at these locations. Fiberglass tanks, due to their non-conductive construction, create a number of challenges that directly relate to the effects of a lightning discharge.

Earlier in this article I reference three tank explosions in just nine days last spring. These were all at tank batteries and caused substantial damage and incurred excessive costs to the owners.

If a fiberglass tank is adversely affected by a lightning-related event, the results can be monumental with some of these lightning triggered events costing millions of dollars for product loss, cleanup, capital loss and litigation. Even if the tanks are not struck directly by a lightning termination, a nearby lightning strike can still create an internal spark that can and, in some cases, will lead to an explosive event and a catastrophic failure.

High electrostatic fields produced during thunder and lightning storms create vulnerability through both primary and secondary sources causing arcing both internally and externally which can lead to:

• Explosive detonation

• Electronic and electrical degradation of I&C systems

• Complete shutdown or failure of operational systems

• Dangerous step and touch potentials

Again, the solution is dependent on not one, but a combination of technologies which include lightning strike protection, grounding engineering and surge protection.  The solution in this case can be as low as $1000 per tank and introduces the In-Tank Potential Equalizer (IPE) as the primary grounding solution with DAS and surge protection. Once again it focuses on prevention rather than collection. Ignoring a solution for these tanks can be astronomical and dangerous especially with the apparent increase of lightning across the hemispheres globally.

Lightning Eliminators & Consultants, Inc. has been providing lightning protection solutions for over 40 years and works with some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies in over 80 countries. As the inventors and experts of DAS, the RGA and the IPE, we have mastered the science of preventing lightning damage to facilities taking both a comprehensive and customized approach to every solution and consider all of a facilities needs when it comes to protecting against lightning’s unpredictable and far-reaching carnage.

The LightningDiva@Large writes the Lightning Protection Blog through www.lightningprotection.com and posts weekly on all lightning protection specific news, information and knowledge.