Spark-free door-sheet cutting on a crude oil tank in Guam
In 2022, Dezu traveled to Guam to supervise a waterjet door-sheet cut on a crude oil storage tank being converted to ultra-low-sulfur diesel service. The cut was made cold — no spark, no heat — with an NLB cold cutting crawler, and the job doubled as the terminal operator's first use of their new NLB 40305D ultra high pressure pump, with Dezu guiding the crew through it. The operator runs fuel terminals for the island's power authority.
The door-sheet opening cut cold into the tank shell — NLB 40305D UHP pump unit in the foreground. Guam, 2022.
Project facts
| Year | 2022 |
| Location | Fuel terminal, Guam |
| Asset | Crude oil storage tank converting to ULSD service |
| Scope | Door-sheet cut supervision + first-use commissioning of client's NLB equipment |
| Equipment | NLB 40305D UHP pump · NLB cold cutting crawler |
Why cut a tank with water instead of torches or saws?
The tank had held crude oil. Any method that makes heat or sparks near hydrocarbon vapors is a hazard that costs gas-freeing time and risk to control. Waterjet cold cutting slices steel with an abrasive water stream at ambient temperature — no ignition source — so a door sheet can be opened on a hydrocarbon tank safely and cleanly, with a straight edge ready for the conversion works.
What did Dezu actually do?
The terminal operator owned a new NLB 40305D pump and cold cutting crawler but had never run them. Dezu supervised the door-sheet cut end to end and walked the client's crew through their first operation of the equipment — planning the cut, rigging the crawler, and running the pump to NLB standards.
Why does this matter for Philippine clients?
It is the full Dezu model on one job: equipment through the exclusive NLB channel, operator capability built by training and supervision, and a difficult live-facility scope delivered safely — proof that travels. If a Pacific terminal trusts the method for a crude tank, it works for Philippine fuel terminals, depots, and refineries too.
Need spark-free cutting on a live facility?
See the NLB line Dezu distributes, or send your tank or vessel scope for a method recommendation.
The client on this engagement is unnamed here out of respect for their confidentiality. The full project record and client references are available — book a meeting and we will walk you through it.