science

Oil terminal

Oil terminal is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Oil terminal rather than just read about it. In short: An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these products are transported to end users or other storage facilities. An oil terminal typically has a variety of above or below ground tankage; facilities for inter-tank transfer; pumping facilities; loading gantries for filling r…

Key takeaways

Oil terminal belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Oil terminal to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Oil terminal from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these products are transported to end users or other storage facilities. An oil terminal typically has a variety of above or below ground tankage; facilities for inter-tank transfer; pumping facilities; loading gantries for filling road tankers or barges; ship loading/unloading equipment at marine terminals; and pipeline connections.

History

Originally, open pits and cubic reservoirs were used for industrial oil storage. The vertical cylindrical steel reservoir structure was pioneered by Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov during his work for Branobel oil company. He published an article "Mechanical structures in oil industry" ("Механические сооружения нефтяной промышленности") in 1883, mathematically proving that cylindrical shape would require the least steel, modelling structural stresses specific to oil storage. Shukhov also developed construction methods, including tables that allowed to calculate required amount of steel and components depending on the reservoir size and type. By 1890, 130 vertical cylindrical reservoirs using Shukhov design were built in Russia.

Location Oil terminals may be located close to, or be part of, oil refineries; or be located in coastal locations where marine tankers can discharge or load cargo. Some terminals are connected to pipelines from which they draw or discharge their products. Terminals can also be served by rail, barge and road tanker (sometimes known as "bridging"). Oil terminals are also located near cities from which road tankers transport products to petrol stations or other domestic, commercial or industrial users.

Facilities In many oil terminals there are no facilities for processing or other product transformation on site. The products from a refinery which are stored in the terminal are in their final form suitable for delivery to customers. Blending of products may be undertaken, and additives may be injected into products, but there is usually no manufacturing plant on site. Modern terminals have a high degree of site automation. Marine oil terminals have jetties to provide a deep water mooring for tankers. Jetties have loading/unloading arms for transferring cargo to/from ship to shore. Facilities for vapor recovery may be provided.

Crude oil terminals Some oil terminals receive crude oil production from offshore installations. Crude oil received by pipeline may have been 'spiked' with natural gas liquids (NGL), and is known as live crude. Such oil needs to be processed or stabilised to remove the lighter fractions such as ethane, propane and butane to produce a dead or stabilised crude that is suitable for storage and transport. Such oil terminals may include processing facilities to treat the oil to achieve an oil Reid vapor pressure (RVP) of 10 to 12 psi (70 to 82 kPa). The process facilities include oil heaters to warm the oil which then routed to separator vessels. In the separators, the lighter fractions flash off from the oil and are further processed to separate them into their individual components. The now stabilised oil can be routed to storage and then sold or sent for further processing.

Airports

Most airports also have their own dedicated oil depots (usually called "fuel farms") where aviation fuel (Jet A or 100LL) is stored prior to being discharged into aircraft fuel tanks. Fuel is transported from the depot to the aircraft either by road tanker or via a hydrant system.

Tanks The storage tanks at an oil terminal may include fixed roof tanks, internal floating roof tanks and external floating roof tanks. Floating roof tanks are generally used for more volatile products to reduce evaporation loss. Fixed roof tanks have a vapor space above the product, which breathes in or out as the product is removed or the tank is filled. Some tanks may be fitted with internal heating coils using hot water or steam to keep the contents warm. This reduces the viscosity of the product to ease transfer and pumping. Terminals may also have Horton spheres which are used to store liquefied petroleum gases such as propane and butane (see left foreground of the above Kowloon oil depot).

Standards The design, construction, operation and maintenance of an oil terminal must be in accordance with local, national, regional and international codes, standards, and legal and statutory requirements. Relevant standards include:

Safety Guidelines and Good Industry Practices for Oil Terminals, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), 2013. Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines for Crude Oil and Petroleum Product Terminals, World Bank Group (April 2007). Design, Construction, Operation, Maintenance, and Inspection of Terminal and Tank Facilities, American Petroleum Institute, API STD 2610. Guidance for Oil Terminal Operators, International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code (2003). Tank Farm Guidelines for the Chemical Industry, Basle Chemical Industry (BCI, 2009). OECD Guidance Concerning Chemical Safety in Port Areas (OCDE/GD(96)39), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 1996). Design Code for Aboveground Atmospheric Storage Tanks, American Petroleum Institute, API 650. Overfill Protection for Storage Tanks in Petroleum Facilities, American Petroleum Institute, API Recommended Practice 2350, 4th edition. Prevention Of Tank Bottom Leakage - A Guide For The Design And Repair Of Foundations And Bottoms Of Vertical, Cylindrical, Steel Storage Tanks, EEMUA 183:2011, Engineering Equipment and Materials Users' Association (EEMUA, 2011). Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Reconstruction, American Petroleum Institute, API standard 653, 4th edition, April 2009. Functional safety - Safety instrumented systems for the process industry sector, International Society of Automation (September 2004). Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard, 29 CFR 1910.119, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, February 1992). Safety Guidelines and Good Practices for Pipelines, ECE/CP.TEIA/2006/11, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (December 2008).

Health, safety and environment

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Oil terminal

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Oil terminal claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Oil terminal before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Oil terminal ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Oil terminal

In research: Oil terminal appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Oil terminal in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Oil terminal is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fuel containers, Oil terminals, Petroleum production, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Oil terminal outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Oil terminal in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Oil terminal means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Oil terminal out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oil terminal in simple terms?

Why does Oil terminal matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Oil terminal?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Oil terminal.