I have developed an open source benchmarking graph, using internet-based data, for oil storage tank farm projects. I have mostly used news articles giving the total value of the contract and total storage capacity in cubic meters (cu m) of the tank farm.
The data is tabulated (in the attached Excel file) with links to the various websites for cross-checking purposes. Within the file I have also escalated the contract values to the current year using a nominal escalation factor (which will vary depending on the market conditions). This can be modified to any future year when needed. This gives a feel of what the market has paid for a typical tank farm of a particular total capacity. These are not out-turn costs but initial awarded values and thus should be treated as such. This is not exact but gives an idea.
No two projects are similar in scope, but what this does is to give an opportunity to the reviewers to understand any special / specific requirements of a project which might make the current project estimate different (like remote location, additional piping, additional pumping, additional pipelines, piling requirement, etc.).
Also, to be noted is that this is only an EPC cost and any Pre-FEED, FEED, other Owner’s costs, service agreements, operation & maintenance costs are to be added separately as needed.
This can be used in addition to or in the absence of any in-house or any third-party benchmarking data. This can be easily shared with anybody and can be used as a cross-check of the detailed tank farm estimates at a $/cu m level.
The graph is also suitable for coming up with quick order of magnitude estimates for bid / no-bid analysis, initial project sanctions, bid evaluations, etc.
The graph shows the typical trend of reducing unit cost for larger capacity tank farms.
I have just done some research to show what can be possible with freely available data and so the graph is not considered comprehensive and can be enhanced with more data points if further research is undertaken. Location / area specific graphs can also be generated if enough data points could be gathered.
Feel free to use this as you see fit with or without modifications.
Special Note:
This analysis could be used to benchmark the complete project cost of any site-built tank.
Sometimes, site-built tanks are included as part of larger projects. In those estimates, the site-built tanks are considered as part of the process equipment items and are typically costed as part of the equipment list. In those situations, it would be a mistake to include the total site-built tank project cost (as per this benchmarking analysis) within the equipment cost account. I would suggest including only the steel supply & prefabrication cost for the tank as part of the equipment cost, which would typically be around 25-30% of the overall tank farm cost (as benchmarked here).
Apart from the steel supply & prefabrication, the other costs which make up a complete tank farm project include all civil works including bunds (if required), installation costs, and the costs of supply, fabrication and installation of all the associated piping, electricals, instrumentation and control items. Finally, costs such as shipping, spares, engineering, project management, site mobilisation, construction management, commissioning and any risks and mark-ups are also part of the overall tank farm project cost.
These additional costs are generally added to the estimate of the whole plant and is not separated out for the site-built tanks within the plant.