Terminal [1]

A large facility for storing and handling petroleum products.

A terminal is usually located adjacent to a petroleum-product pipeline, a refinery [2], a railroad, or a waterfront ship-berthing area.

A terminal receives bulk deliveries of gasoline [3] and other products from a pipeline, tankers or barges, or directly from a nearby refinery.

The products are stored in large tanks at the terminal. Equipment at the facility is usually capable of further processing the product: injection of additives, for example, or conversion of gasoline [3] vapors received from transports after making deliveries using Stage I vapor recovery [4] back to liquid form.

Tanker trucks come to terminal loading racks [5] to take on their cargoes of motor fuel. These vehicles, in turn, transport the product either to a bulk plant [6] or gasoline station.

A terminal should not be confused with a bulk plant [6]. Although both are used for the temporary storage of petroleum products prior to delivery to gasoline stations, C-stores [7], and commercial accounts, bulk plants are much smaller (50,000-500,000 gallons) than terminals and are not normally equipped with any processing equipment.