THE IMPORTANCE OF OIL DEPOT IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES

An oil depot (sometimes called a tank farm, installation or oil terminal) is an industrial facility for the storage of petroleum and / or petrochemical products and from which these products are generally transported to end-users or other storage facilities. An oil depot usually has a tank, either above ground or underground, and gantries (frame) for spilling products in tank trucks or other vehicles (such as barges) or pipelines. Oil depots are usually located near oil refineries or in places where tankers containing products can unload their cargo. Some deposits are attached to pipelines from which they draw their supplies and deposits can also be fed by rail, barge and tanker (sometimes called "bridge"). Most oil depots have tank trucks that operate from their land and these vehicles transport products to service stations or other users. An oil depot is a relatively unsophisticated facility in that (in most cases) there is no processing or other processing on the site. Products that reach the depot (from a refinery) are in their final form suitable for delivery to customers. In some cases, additives can be injected into products in tanks, but there is usually no on-site manufacturing facility. Modern repositories include the same types of tanks, pipelines and gantries as in the past, and although there is more automation on the site, there have been few significant changes in operational activities deposits over time.

Safety
One of the key requirements is health, safety and the environment (HSE), and depot operators must ensure that products are stored and handled safely. There should be no leaks (etc.) that could damage the ground or groundwater. Fire protection is a primary consideration, especially for more flammable products such as gasoline (gasoline) and aviation fuel.
 
Oil Depot ownership.
i. Owned by a single oil company. When a company owns and operates a deposit for its own account.
ii. Joint or consortium ownership, where two or more businesses together own a deposit and share its operating costs.
iii.Independent property, where a deposit is not held by an oil company but by a separate company that charges oil companies (and others) a fee for storing and handling products. Royal Vopak of the Netherlands is the largest independent terminal operator with 80 terminals in 30 countries.

Airports
Most airports also have their own dedicated fuel depots (usually called "fuel farms") where aviation fuel (Jet A or 100LL) is stored before being discharged into aircraft fuel tanks. The fuel is transported from the depot to the aircraft either by tank truck or by a fire hydrant system.