API STD 2000 Storage Tank Venting and Make-Up Requirements Have Changed

The API STD 2000 “Venting Atmospheric and Low-Pressure Storage Tanks” has provided vapor venting and make-up requirements for storage tanks for almost four decades. Released in March 2014, the 7th edition updates the venting and make-up requirements by including new input criteria such as the facility’s location in relation to the Earth’s equator, as well as the storage liquid’s vapor pressure, among other changing assumptions. These changes will, in some applications, result in larger pressure and vacuum relief devices when compared with those selected using the previous version of API 2000. This raises the question of how to maintain adequate protection for tanks in compliance with the new standard. Even though the replacement of existing devices is not proposed or mandatory by the current version, reviewing the needs of most critical service facilities would be of great value to storage tank owner-operators. Changes to the API STD 2000 come from consensus of the API Subcommittee on Pressure Relieving Systems (SPRS). The SPRS is made up of the industry’s main practitioners who are considered the subject matter experts in the area of pressure relief. This Industry Insights article will provide a summary of the changes to API STD 2000 and will identify where the significant changes in venting requirements occur, in addition to recommendations regarding how to address these changes to meet the standard.