Safety First
The way we manage risks has given us a great performance for safe and incident-free workplaces.
The safety of people is an essential value for Gasmar.
We operate by protecting our employees, contractors, customers and communities, by means of a methodology that includes the identification of potential risks, the implementation of measures to prevent possible incidents, and the education of employees and contractors regarding unsafe behaviour.
And we are very strict
- It’s forbidden to take in lighters or cigarettes and to use mobile phones on our premises. We are constantly reducing the risk of ignition.
- We constantly train our team with firefighters in the USA.
- Before any loading or unloading of LPG, we meticulously check the connections to avoid any leaks during the process.
- A 24-7 operated control room monitors our installations to assure performance, control and safety at all times. It can be operated manually or automatically.
Prevention and monitoring
Constant training of our team, including firefighting knowledge. Technology to constantly monitor and activate mechanisms remotely.
Permanent Monitoring
Onsite
Strict Control
Enviroment monitoring
International Expertise
Cooperation with firefighters
Our processes in 3 steps:
Step 1
At least once a month, Gasmar receives a ship with LPG imported by its customers at the dock next to its facilities.
Step 2
Experts connect the ship with our facilities through flexible connections. By means of a pump system, we load our tanks to keep a stock, enabling us to have the largest LPG storage on the west coast of South America.
Step 3
Our LPG is shipped as required by customers. In Quintero, it is dispatched by a third-party owned pipeline that arrives at our customers’ bottling plants located in the Metropolitan Region. In both Quintero and Mejillones, it is transported by trucks that they themselves bring to the terminals.
For further details about our processes, take the following virtual tour.
1. Receiving the LPG at the dock
When scheduled by our customers, vessels loaded with LPG arrive at the dock in front of Gasmar’s plant, to be unloaded during a process that takes about two days per ship. Propane and butane (both usually referred to as LPG) are odorless gases that when cooled down attain a liquid state. This helps with transportation, making it cheap and safe to handle.We are very strict and focused on safety about the control measures before and during unloading, made possible by flexible connections with two-way safety valves.
2. Trench area (pipelines)
Once the LPG begins to be unloaded from the ship, it is transported by pipe to our storage tanks. All of our pipes comply with stringent international safety standards, guaranteeing safe operation of our terminal.
3. Tank Nº5 and safety pools
The biggest tank of our terminal is tank Nº5, with a capacity of 60,000 m³ or 35,000 tonnes. It allows us to store the contents of about 2.3 million gas cylinders. It was built in 2014. This tank is the newest of our terminal and includes water sprinklers for cooling and equidistant monitors at four different parts of the pond, which can be controlled remotely with electric motors from the control room.
The safety pools are filled with about 11 million litres of water to support the fire network, meeting stringent international regulatory standards.
4. Refrigeration units
The increase in pressure that is naturally generated by LPG is controlled automatically by the refrigeration units.
Robust units with equipment that is constantly reviewed and maintained permanently allow us to keep the systems working and others as a backup.
5. OdoUrant and Chromatograph
This is one of the most important parts of our terminal, as most of the safety measures involve what happens here, i.e., the application of odourant to LPG.
LPG is odourless in its original state, the known “gas smell” is a consequence of the incorporation of a special product that is added in small quantities. The dosage of odourant for LPG is just 24 grammes per tonne.
6. Truck loading area
Truck Entry Regulations to the Terminal.
7. Pipeline
85% of the LPG that is delivered from our terminal is transported by a network of pipelines owned by a third party to Santiago, where our customers fill up the smaller tanks and cylinders for domestic and commercial use.
8. Safety FlareS
At the Quintero terminal we have two safety flares. This equipment is an additional safety measure to address a potential pressure increase in the storage tanks. When increased pressure is not absorbed by the refrigeration unit, the system will automatically open valves that release the additional pressure towards the flares. According to protocol, the main flare should be always lit.
9. Control Room
In this room we have complete control of our systems throughout the plant. All the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) units are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our team is present constantly in this room in order to supervise that the plant is working correctly.
