2026 API Storage Tank Conference & Expo

The definitive annual gathering for aboveground storage tank professionals since 1995, organized by API, developer of tank standards API 650 and API 653. The conference covers evolving standards, emerging technologies, regulatory developments, inspection and maintenance strategies, and real-world case studies for engineers, operators, regulators, and asset integrity specialists.

The conference theme is “Pipeline to Possibilities: Securing Energy, Shaping Futures.” Stakeholder Engagement & Outreach covers community and public engagement, API Recommended Practices 1162 and 1185, environmental justice, Tribal and First Nation considerations, emergency responder education, and damage prevention. Pipeline Operational Excellence addresses safety performance, in-line inspection lessons, pipeline safety management systems, safety culture, management of change, asset remediation, and operational and enterprise risk management. Technology, AI & Innovation includes inspection tools, engineering practices, control room technologies, artificial intelligence, API RP 1165, and emerging fuels. Workforce Training & Development covers succession planning, knowledge transfer, recruitment and retention, multigenerational workforces, operator qualification, inspector certification, and competency-based learning. Sustainability & New Fuels addresses CO2, hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels; safety, integrity, leak detection, corrosion management, emergency preparedness, methane emissions, and environmental stewardship. Other tracks address pipeline construction, project management, commissioning, major maintenance, contract management and trenchless technologies; leak detection systems and predictive analytics; SCADA/OT modernization, industrial control system cybersecurity, threat response and regulatory compliance; and alarm and control room management, including fatigue mitigation, controller training, management of change, records, and regulatory interpretations.

Presented by the Center for Hydrogen Safety, the conference addresses practical hydrogen safety challenges, regulations, codes and standards, and applied safety practices. Themes include process safety; quantitative risk analysis; explosions and hazards; materials integrity; hydrogen production and electrolysis; storage; transport and pipelines; fueling and mobility; incidents and lessons learned; public safety; emerging technology; and digital tools. Program topics include updates to CGA G-5.5 for hydrogen vent systems; compressed-hydrogen leak-rate requirements and testing practices; OSHA PSM and EPA RMP applicability and exemptions; hydrogen safety education; ultrasonic gas-leak detection; full-scale liquid-hydrogen tank failure testing; and detonation transmission in hydrogen-air mixtures. Other sessions address safer control architectures for hydrogen production, safety planning for large-scale projects and hydrogen hubs, abnormal-operation decision-making, loss-of-primary-containment indicators, green-hydrogen deployment at a public utility, risk assessment across H2–NH3–H2 supply chains, HyRAM+ modeling, operational data, vehicle-labeling standards, and hydrogen locomotive development.

The technical program covers pipeline integrity management, in-line inspection (ILI), engineering assessments, geohazards, crack and dent assessment, seam-weld threats, repairs, and hydrogen transportation. Plenary topics include operator guidelines and specifications, technical knowledge management, assessing existing pipelines for hydrogen service, selective seam-weld corrosion, and PHMSA MAOP reconfirmation requirements. Parallel technical tracks address landslide monitoring and pipeline strain; crack characterization and management; ILI applications, analysis, and verification; hard spots; dent assessment; engineering assessment; hydrogen transportation; integrity management; difficult-to-inspect pipelines; materials verification; and repair technologies. Presentations include work on ILI run comparisons, risk-informed assessment choices under the PHMSA Gas Mega Rule, dent engineering critical assessment, non-intrusive pipeline assessment, material testing, and repair qualification. A panel addresses PHMSA repair criteria for hazardous-liquid and gas-transmission pipelines.

The program focuses on cybersecurity for the oil and natural gas industry, with an emphasis on safety, best practices, innovation, and resilience. Listed subjects include application security and SecDevOps; compliance and new regulations; ICS cybersecurity; identity and access management; cyber incident management; next-generation SOC and security orchestration; generative AI platform risks and security; zero trust; threat hunting and threat intelligence; cyber insurance; the human element; and cybersecurity architecture. The program also includes a CISO leadership panel, a cyber incident management workshop, an API conference retrospective and past-chair panel, and the keynote session “AI Made Me Do It: Confessions of an AI-Era CISO.”

Technical programming covers corrosion and protective coatings through peer-reviewed technical symposia, research-in-progress symposia, a research topical symposium, and a student poster session. The research topical symposium, “Toward Reliable Corrosion Prediction: Data-Driven Environmental Characterization and Accelerated Test Correlation,” addresses environmental severity and corrosivity, ISO corrosivity categorization, corrosion monitoring and sensing, environmental data collection and analytics, mechanistic and data-driven corrosion models, machine learning and artificial intelligence applications, accelerated corrosion testing, laboratory-to-field correlation, service-life prediction, climate-specific corrosion assessment, and standards development. The conference also includes an exhibit hall.

The peer-led program is designed for terminal operators and focuses on health and safety topics affecting terminal operations. Presentations use firsthand operating experiences to discuss incidents, responses, and lessons learned. Sessions address Colonial Pipeline’s “Stuff That Kills You” model for high-energy risks in hazardous work environments; ITC’s cultural, engineering, and reliability changes following the Deer Park fire, including API 653, risk-based inspection, preventive and predictive maintenance; and electrical heat-tracing hazards on movable piping, including design, inspection, testing, and preventive maintenance. Other topics include flammable refrigerants used with LPG, LNG, and specialty chemicals; emergency response and causes of a product spill; corrective actions following an unintended gasoline release during pig retrieval; systems thinking and human performance in terminal-to-barge personnel transfers; and task-focused local plant safety meetings. The program also covers investigation of a leaking aboveground storage tank, including leak identification, nondestructive inspections, and destructive testing. Registration is limited to terminal member companies.

The Committee on Refinery Equipment is responsible for more than 220 standards that form the basis of the API Individual Certification and Process Safety Site Assessment programs. Technical subcommittees cover aboveground storage tanks; corrosion and materials; heat transfer equipment; inspection and mechanical integrity; piping and valves; pressure-relieving systems; refractory materials; electrical equipment; instruments and control systems; mechanical equipment; petroleum refining technical data; and API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Fitness-For-Service. The meeting addresses consensus-based standards and best practices for downstream operations, equipment, process safety, inspection, mechanical integrity, materials, corrosion, piping, valves, controls, and refinery engineering. Participation is open to parties with a direct and material interest in the subject of a standard.

Jointly sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), the symposium features technical presentations on lessons learned from facility incidents and near misses, and accident avoidance in refineries and petrochemical plants. It also provides a forum for exchanging information on safe operating practices and procedures and sharing best practices. Attendance is limited to refining and petrochemical operating companies.