Oil refineries and bulk storage of crude oil and petroleum products

Background:

This profile covers the refining of crude oil into saleable petroleum products by physical and chemical processes and the bulk storage of crude, refined and finished oil products. Crude oil is the basic raw material upon which all refinery processes are founded. Crude oils are primarily complex mixtures of hydrocarbons, but they also contain compounds with small amounts of oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur and traces of metals (e.g. vanadium, nickel and iron). Crude oils from different sources demonstrate considerable variation in properties (e.g. in terms of colour, odour, viscosity, content of sulphur and volatiles). The principal products of oil refineries are:

  • refinery gas
  • liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
  • naphtha
  • petrol
  • aviation fuel
  • kerosene
  • gas oil/diesel
  • fuel oil
  • lubricants and waxes
  • bitumen and coke
Although there are only four operational refineries in the UK (February 2026), this profile is applicable to former refineries and sites where the bulk storage of crude oil and petroleum products has occurred.
Potential Processes and Operations:

The profile mainly focuses on modern refineries and operational practice in the bulk storage of crude oil and petroleum products.

There is a need for the storage of oil and products in tank farms at a number of stages in the oil import, refining and product distribution cycle. Oil is delivered to refineries either by tanker or pipeline. In both cases there is a need for operational storage at the refinery in order to secure feedstock supplies. In some cases, the oil for a particular refinery is fed to a crude oil terminal some distance from the refinery.

There is further substantial storage of oil products within a refinery in the form of intermediate storage between successive refinery processes and the final storage of finished products. The latter may be at a refinery or at a separate dedicated tank farm site. In addition there is subsequent storage of products at further stages in the distribution cycle.

Modern oil refining essentially involves two categories of processing, the physical separation of the raw material into a range of homogeneous petroleum fractions and the subsequent chemical conversion of certain fractions to alter the product yield and improve product quality. Physical processes include distillation and blending; chemical processes include cracking, coking, reforming, alkylation, polymerisation, isomerisation and hydrogen treatment.

Potential Contaminants of Concern:
Contaminant type Main group of contaminants Location  
Raw material storage Process areas Pipelines and pumps Intermediate and product storage facilities Waste storage areas/lagoons Drainage systems Wastewater treatment plants Terminals and distribution centres Fire training areas, foam storage
Organic Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) • •  •  • • • • •  
Halogenated hydrocarbons • •  •  • • • • •  
Non-halogenated hydrocarbons • •  •  • • • • •  
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs • •  •  • • • • •  
Dioxins and furans   •         •    
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)                  
Pesticides and herbicides                  
Organometallic compounds • •  •  • • • • •  
Explosives                  
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)     •   • • • • •
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)   • •   • • • • •
Inorganic Metals • •   • •   •    
Non-metals and common inorganic substances • •   • • • • •  
Asbestos   • •         •  
Cyanides • •   • • • • •  
Radionuclides                  
Other potential contaminants of concern A range of other contaminants are relevant at these sites including but not limited to glycols, amines, ethers, organo-sulphur compounds. See original Industry Profile for additional potential contaminants.
 
Original Industry Profile: 
Further Information Sources:
Related Industry Profiles:
 

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