Choosing Between API 620 and 650

for Your Storage Tank

The American Petroleum Industry (API) has established standards for the design,
fabrication and construction of welded steel storage tanks for storing oil. The most
popular tanks available on the market today are the 620 and 650 models, but which is
right for you? The answer depends on what you require out of the product.API 620
regulates the design and manufacture of large steel low-pressure storage tanks, usually
larger than 300 feet in diameter. By contrast, API Standard 650 is typically used for
carbon, stainless steel and aluminium tanks located in terminals, refineries, pipelines and
other process facilities. Both have different pressure and temperature parameters as well.
Your choice of model will depend on you and/or your client’s particular needs.

API 620

The design configuration of API 620 requires that you have an elevated or flat bottom on
which to store it. The tank has a single, vertical, centered axis of revolution with a
minimum material thickness of 3/16 inch. Other attributes of API 620 include:

 It is constructed from carbon steel, austenitic stainless steel and nickel alloys (low
temperature only).
 A Welding Certification is stipulated by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME), Section 10.
 There is a required inspection, no third party.
 The inspection cost is the cost of the non-destructive inspection (NDE)

Benefits of API 620 are:

1. It is used for products which have high internal pressure such as liquefied natural
gas (LNG) and cryogenic tanks.
2. It can store contents at a higher pressure (maximum 15 pounds per square inch
(PSI) of gas or vapor storage) and lower temperature (-325 degrees F to 250
degrees F) than API 650.
3. It can store any liquid.

API 650

API 650 sets minimum requirements for the design, material, construction, and testing for
aboveground, open and closed-top, cylindrical steel storage tanks in different capacities
and sizes, roughly equating to the pressure of the atmosphere (not greater than the weight
of the roof plates). If additional requirements are met, higher internal pressures are
allowed. API 650 only covers tanks that support the whole bottom evenly and tanks in
non-refrigerated service that have a maximum design temperature of 200 degrees F. It
requires that you have a minimum material thickness of 3/16 inch. Other attributes of
API 650 are:

 It is constructed from carbon steel, austenitic duplex stainless steel, and aluminium
 Choosing Between API 620 and 650
for Your Storage Tank
 A Welding Certification is stipulated by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME), Section 10.
 There is a required inspection, no third party.
 The inspection cost is the cost of the NDE.

Benefits of API 650 include:

1. It can store oil, gas, chemical, water and biofuel for some of the most common
tanks in the oil industry.
2. It can store contents at a lower pressure (maximum of 2 ½ PSI) but at much
higher temperature (-40 degrees F to 500 degrees F) than the standards of API
620.
3. It can be any tank size.

Hopefully, this article provides some clarification for those of you in the metal
fabrication industry regarding the key differences between API Standards 620 and
650 for storage tanks. To quickly summarize, API 620 can store contents at a lower
temperature and higher pressure whereas API 650 permits a lower amount of
pressure at a higher temperature. Given that, and knowing your specific pressure
and temperature requirements, you can see that choosing your standard carefully is
critical.