More Modern and Reliable Oil Tanks

Julie Lespérance, Scheduler and Oil Rotation Manager; Martin Morel, Project Manager; Jérôme Côté, Field Lineman and Oil Rotation Manager; and Rémi Trudel, Site Superintendent.

The oil tanks and the valve management building, located at Distribution Jonquière (DJ) in the Complexe Jonquière, have been replaced with more modern and reliable equipment. A total of $1.6 million was injected into this large-scale project, which grew out of the collaboration between the Engineering departments and the Vaudreuil/IPSF/DJ partnership.

The oil tanks of the transformers at Distribution Jonquière are the nerve centre of the entire Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean region. “The transformers have oils that must be replaced at certain intervals,” said Julie Lespérance, Scheduler and Oil Rotation Manager. “Instead of disposing of the old contaminated oils, we store them in our tanks and have a specialised company come in to decontaminate them on a regular basis, thereby minimising our environmental impact. Our equipment rotates through 150,000 litres of oil per year.”

Significant Improvements

The tanks, which had a capacity of 25,000 litres, now have double the volume and can hold 50,000 litres of oil. And to respond to regional demand, there are now six tanks instead of five. Jérôme Côté, Field Lineman and Oil Rotation Manager, told us more about the new equipment:

“We made the equipment more reliable through various upgrades, including double-walled tanks and piping with alarms to prevent spillage in the event of a leak. As this project was also focused on technology, the tanks were equipped with new laser sensors that provide real-time readings on level fluctuations. Plus, the alarms on the tanks allow employees to detect problems quickly—and even remotely in some cases. This is a major advance for us, as none of this was possible before.”

A Major Challenge

One of the challenges of this project was continuing to operate while installing the new equipment. “It was a big challenge, Lespérance added, “because we had to keep things up and running. We couldn’t suspend our maintenance work, including the maintenance of our transformers. Continuing our operations was a logistical feat. Jérôme was an invaluable asset. He was able to work miracles and reinvent the way we managed our oils by relocating them.”

“Everyone contributed to the success of this project,” said Martin Morel, Project Manager in Engineering. “The collaboration between Engineering, the facility and Services Pétroliers M.T., represented by Pierre-Luc Aubut, was instrumental to achieving the final result, and everyone should be very proud of their work.”