Truck loading in the oil & gas industry

Truck transport is mainly used for transport of refined products by road to their end destination, to a local supplier or customer. This destination might be a local fuel station storage tank, from where it is sold on to the public. Other larger users, like distributors and bunkering service suppliers, if not served by pipeline, might have fuel delivered by railcar tanks on a train, or by a ship or barge. A tank truck loading system is used to transfer the refined products into the road tanker, railcar, or ship’s tank: this is a custody transfer and so accurate metering is required. Any tanker loading system typically uses two hose connections - one to load the liquid product into the truck and another to recover and collect the fumes that come out of the truck as they are being replaced by the delivered liquid.

In most European contries the custody transfer measurement equipment used for truck loading requires an MI 005 approval, a part of the EEC Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) entitled ‘Metering Systems for liquids other than water’. KROHNE has developed and supplies ultrasonic and Coriolis flowmeters with MI 005 approval for use on truck loading skids, as well as complete skid mounted truck loading systems. At the receiving depot, a tanker truck unloading system, mounted on the truck, can monitor and record the fuel delivered – or the receiving terminal might have their own metering skid. KROHNE radar level measurement systems and level switchesare used on the terminal storage tanks to monitor the oil levels and tank contents during all transfers. For both existing and new installations KROHNE can supply MID consultancy services, which assure the complete installation will conform to MI 005.