Oil Logistics

From the refinery to the consumer, various modes of transport are used to distribute hydrocarbons. Pending delivery, they are stored in depots subject to strict management rules. These rules set out strict safety and security requirements to protect surrounding soil, water and air.

Pipe from the Donges refinery arriving at the oil storage depot in Le Mans(France, June 2004)
© Total / Dufour Marco

How Is Oil and Gas Distribution Organized?

Every day, each of us uses petroleum products to meet our domestic needs - for example to drive a car or motorcycle. Similarly, the industry, agriculture and transport sectors and public authorities and services have substantial oil and gas requirements.







So, oil companies have to deliver the right product at the right time, to the right location and at the best price, under optimum safety and security conditions to protect the environment. These are the aims of oil logistics, which coordinate refineries, storage depots and a distribution network to deliver petroleum products to the consumer.

Petroleum products must be delivered at the right time and place, in optimum safety and security conditions.

Oil Storage Depots

Each country only has a few refineries and some countries don't even have any. That is why there are storage depots for storing hydrocarbons. These intermediate storage depots help meet local demand quickly. Companies don't have to carry out multiple journeys between refineries and the locations where the products are to be delivered.

Oil storage depots are only used to manage the distribution of petroleum products in a given region.

False. In Europe, these storage centers also contain oil reserves. All EU countries have an obligation to store enough additional oil to meet national demand for three months - these are known as strategic stocks.
This oil can be used if there is a break in supply- either because of a delay in delivering crude to a refinery or a refinery shutdown that prevents the delivery of finished products over a longer period.

Petroleum products are delivered from refineries to depots using what are known as mass transport methods, such as:

   • Pipelines
   • Rail tankers
   • Inland barges
   • Ships

Each oil storage depot:

   • Has 10-30 steel reservoirs that can take up to 60,000m3 of liquid

   • Can take 10,000-300,000m³ of miscellaneous petroleum products (fuel, gasoline, diesel, and kerosene).

In France, the major oil companies own about sixty main storage depots. They supply service stations and a large number of secondary storage depots, which are smaller and generally run by independent dealers.

Road tankers - which can hold 10-30 tons of liquid- deliver to customers. Some of these trucks have compartments, so they can deliver a number of different products in one load. Each large storage depot has 3-12 loading bays where petroleum products are loaded onto the trucks- which then set off to deliver their cargo.
Products are checked as they go through the distribution chain, to guarantee that the consumer gets the highest quality.

Safety and Security - Key Issues

Petroleum products are dangerous and carry a risk of fire or explosion. Ensuring the safety and security of storage depots and of the distribution chain is therefore crucial.

In Europe, refineries and oil storage depots are subject to very strict regulations. Authorities inspect them on a regular basis. These safety regulations are defined in the Seveso II directive¹. They were drawn up after an industrial accident in 1976 in a pesticide and herbicide plant in Seveso, Italy; and were amended in 2003.

Consequently, a wide range of safety measures have been implemented in oil storage depots.

  • Safety valves are installed on each reservoir and floating blankets placed inside the tanks. These are covers that prevent volatile products from dispersing into the atmosphere.

   • Tanks and pipes are also fitted with alarms, hydrocarbon detectors, and automatic shut-off valves to detect and stop any leaks.

   • Fixed and mobile fire safety systems (sprinkler systems, water screens, and, water and foam cannons) are installed in storage depots to put out any fire that may break out.

Moreover, fire safety drills are carried out monthly and there is an annual fire drill with the fire department.

Similarly, the distribution network's safetey is ensured in various ways. For instance:

  • Delivery truck drivers must have a special permit for hydrocarbon transport.

   • Trucks and equipment are regularly inspected. Oil companies also check that security conditions are met at delivery points, even if they do not own them.

Special Measures to Protect the Environment

To avoid any pollution, each storage depot has a number of facilities, like:

   • A vapor recovery unit to recover emissions in truck loading bays to protect ambient air

   • Retention ponds around the reservoirs to recover any leaking liquid

   • Containment ponds to recover equipment washing discharge or rainwater that falls on the storage depot (this hydrocarbon-containing water is then filtered through separators and settling tanks to remove pollutants

   • A waste collection skip (for oily rags and mud from the bottom of tanks) that is then treated by specialist companies.

[1] source: For details of this directive see Europa.eu