Oil Tank-Farm Fire Safety in India — OISD-STD-117/116/244 + NFPA 30 + 11 + API 2510

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MEP Consultant · Oil & Gas · 12 May 2026

Oil Tank-Farm Fire Safety in India — OISD-STD-117/116/244 + NFPA 30 + 11 + API 2510

Published: 05 May 2026Updated: 12 May 2026Original figures: 9

A 25,000 kL Indian crude-tank farm needs 1,000-1,500 kL fire-water reserve + 8.5 kL foam concentrate for the largest single-tank cone-roof event per OISD-STD-117 Rev 4 (2024) + NFPA 11 + 30. Foam-water sizing must cover largest-single-tank fire + simultaneous cooling of adjacent tanks within 1.5x diameter — not single tank alone. Three failures Indian terminal audits catch: single-tank foam sizing (missing adjacent cooling), no fluorine-free F3 foam transition plan (AFFF/PFAS phase-out per ECHA + ICAO 2025), dike drainage without slop-tank sloping creating burning-fuel pool accumulation against adjacent tanks.

Indian oil tank-farm fire — the regulator + standard stack

Indian oil terminal + tank-farm fire safety (IOCL Mathura, BPCL Mumbai, HPCL Vizag, Reliance Jamnagar, Adani Mundra, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves) is governed by OISD-STD-117 (Fire Protection Facilities for Petroleum Refineries + Oil/Gas Processing Plants), OISD-STD-116 (Fire Protection Facilities for POL Depots + Terminals), OISD-STD-244 (Storage + Handling of LPG), NFPA 30 (Flammable + Combustible Liquids Code), NFPA 11 (Foam), API 521 (Pressure Relief), PESO Petroleum Rules 2002 + Indian Explosives Act. The 2009 Jaipur IOCL fire (11 dead + ₹280 Cr damage) drove the OISD-STD-244 + 117 update.

25,000 kL crude storage tank farm — fire scope

Tank type Volume Diameter Foam application rate Foam quantity (15 min) Water for cooling Total water demand
Cone-roof crude 10,000 kL 30 m 6 LPM/m² × π × 15² = 4240 LPM 4 kL foam concentrate 24 hr at 750 LPM 1080 kL water
Floating-roof crude (FR) 10,000 kL 30 m 12 LPM/m² × 0.5m rim seal = 25 LPM/m of circumference 0.5 kL 24 hr at 600 LPM 864 kL
Cone-roof gasoline 5,000 kL 25 m 6 LPM/m² × π × 12.5² = 2945 LPM 2.65 kL foam 24 hr at 600 LPM 864 kL
LPG bullet (refrig) 2,000 kL sphere 18 m dia — — 24 hr at 1000 LPM water-spray (full envelope) 1440 kL
Fixed-foam system permanent foam chamber per OISD-STD-117 — foam concentrate 3-6% — —
Mobile foam capability foam tender OISD-STD-117 — additional 50 % concentrate — —
Total water reserve 4-hr fire @ design + adjacent cooling — — — — 4-6 kL/min × 240 min = 1,000+ kL

Foam concentrate inventory by tank size (kL of 3% AFFF) — single tank fire1,000 kL cone-roof0.85kL2,500 kL2.1kL5,000 kL2.65kL10,000 kL4kL15,000 kL5.5kL25,000 kL (large crude)8.5kL40,000 kL (mega)12kLTank-farm fire-water reserve (kL) — by storage volume1 × 10,000 kL crude1080kL5 × 10,000 kL crude2400kL10 tanks4500kL15 tanks (medium terminal)6800kL25 tanks (large terminal)10500kL40 tanks (mega-refinery)16500kL

Three OISD-STD-117 / 116 failures we keep finding in Indian audits

  1. Foam-water demand calculated single-tank instead of full-surface adjacent — OISD-STD-117 Rev 4 (2024) requires foam-water sized for the largest single tank fire + simultaneous cooling of adjacent tanks within 1.5x diameter. Many Indian terminals undersize foam systems for “largest tank only” — fails OISD audit + leaves catastrophic gap.
  2. Fluorine-free foam transition not planned — AFFF (PFAS-based) is being phased out globally per ICAO/EASA/ECHA 2025 + EU REACH restrictions. Indian terminals continue specifying AFFF + face stranded asset risk. Specify fluorine-free F3 foam (e.g., RF-3 6%, Solberg RF-6) with tested re-burn performance for storage tank fire.
  3. Dike drainage + slop-tank under-spec — OISD-STD-117 + NFPA 30 require dike drainage at ≥ 110 % volume of largest tank + sloped to a remote slop tank with isolation valves. Indian terminals routinely build dike walls but skip slop tank — burning fuel pools accumulate + threaten adjacent infrastructure.
// References + Standards
  1. OISD-STD-117 Rev 4 (2024) — Fire Protection Facilities for Petroleum Refineries + Oil/Gas Processing Plants, Oil Industry Safety Directorate, India.
  2. OISD-STD-116 — Fire Protection Facilities for POL Depots + Terminals.
  3. OISD-STD-244 — Storage + Handling of Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
  4. NFPA 30:2024 — Flammable + Combustible Liquids Code.
  5. NFPA 11:2024 — Standard for Low- Medium- + High-Expansion Foam.
  6. API 2510:2018 — Design + Construction of LPG Installations.
  7. API 521:2020 — Pressure-relieving + Depressuring Systems.
  8. The Petroleum Rules 2002 (India PESO) + Explosives Act 1884.
  9. EU REACH Annex XVII Entry 50 — PFAS Restriction 2025.
By MEPVAULT Editorial Team — A team of practising MEP consultants based in India. ISHRAE-affiliated; FSAI-aligned.

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