

The feasibility study is conducted by consultants from established oil companies. Manufacturing and construction of the terminal Feasibility study to determine the necessity for setting upĤ. Setting up a terminal involves the following steps:ġ. The facilities and operations are the same as other terminals, however, the fighter aircraft or warship fuel will be customized for the engine and specifications of the craft. Military Owned – These use separate oil supplies and terminals from commercial uses for security reasons.

One such company is the Royal Vopak, based out the Netherlands.Ĥ. They hold oil reserves for several companies at a time and charge them for the storage and operational costs. Independent Facility – In some cases, a private 3rd party may start their own oil storage terminal and supply operations. It is the preferred mode of ownership for smaller petroleum companies that cannot venture into constructing a facility by themselves.ģ. This includes technology and knowledge exchange, expertise, shared operational costs etc. Consortium – A consortium is a group of companies that work together for certain benefits. Companies such as Shell and Exxon supply oil to their various facilities from these terminals.Ģ. Single Owner – For large global players, owning and operating their own depots is a more feasible option. The classes of ownership that apply to conventional oil terminals are as follows:ġ. Owning and setting up an oil terminal is very expensive and technical.ĭue to the several factors that come into play when building a terminal, only experienced professionals can undertake this. Petrol and diesel bunks used to fill up cars and other road transport vehicles also use oil depots (underground terminals) for storage purposes. Such units are known as air-fuel depots from which road tankers refill aircraft fuel supplies. Oil Depot – Inland storage site for oilįor instance, the air transport industry uses fuel and oil stored in oil depots within the airport premises. Tank Farm – Multiple silos or containerized units storing oil inland (term “farm” indicating several units at a consolidated location)ģ. Oil Terminal – Portside or harbour facilityĢ. However, they refer to the same design principles and safety standards.ġ. The exact terminology may vary in these situations. Any industry that involves the use of oil or fuel from a stored depot also utilizes an oil terminal. The use of oil terminals is not restricted to ports and other maritime harbours. Such nations have little to no oil reserves and depend on oil-rich nations for power generation and essential operations.Īt such ports, the oil is pumped in from ships and separated into 2 categories of storage silos.Ī small portion is used to refuel vessels at the port, while the rest is carried inland to oil depots for further division via pipelines. In the case of inbound ships and carriers, the oil is used to fulfil the needs of the country. As carriers are charged for the fuel, the country recovers these costs. In the case of oil-rich nations such as those in the Middle East and Western Asia, a portion of the inland supplies is kept aside for this. Most ports these days provide refuelling capacities within reasonable rates. They also supply the fuel that is used to run these ships.

From there, they are consolidated and regularly used to replenish outbound tankers (LNG, oil, OBO carriers). These can be either from inland oil sources that transport fuels via pipelines, or from ships and oil tankers that berth at a port.įor the former, these pipelines present a cheap method of bringing in oil for export to the ports. They are most commonly found at ports and other harbour facilities to handle incoming oil products. Incidents and Accidents Involving Oil Terminalsīriefly put, oil terminals are storage depots for oil, other fuels, and petrochemical products.International and Domestic Laws and Safety Standards.Facilities and Operations at Oil Terminals.
