Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal
Encyclopedia
Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal is operated by Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL) and commonly known as the Buncefield oil depot. It is an oil depot
located on the edge of Hemel Hempstead
to the north of London
in the United Kingdom
. In 2005 it exploded and became the location of the largest fire in Europe
since World War II
.
.
The expanded site was opened in 1968 after a pipeline
was constructed to link two Shell
refineries in Stanlow in the North West of England at Ellesmere Port
in Cheshire
, and Shell Haven
on the Thames Estuary
at Stanford-le-Hope
in Thurrock
. The pipeline allowed "white oil" products, such as petrol and diesel, to be transported cheaply and efficiently across the country. Along with Buncefield, a number of other pipeline-fed installations were built at the same time. These depots were always shared by the oil companies who have benefited together from the lower costs compared with other transportation methods. However, when they opened, such depots, including Buncefield, sometimes became difficult to manage from an industrial relations perspective. Drivers and other operatives from different oil companies, but members of the same Trades Union, usually the Transport and General Workers Union, were able to coordinate their industrial action more effectively by being on the same site as one another. In 1990 a further pipeline was completed, linking the site to the Lindsey Oil Refinery
in Humberside
.
Before the fire, which devastated over a quarter of the site, the terminal was the fifth largest oil depot in the UK with pipelines to Humberside, Merseyside
and Heathrow and Gatwick airports radiating from it. The terminal operator is Total
, which owns 60% of the depot, with Texaco
owning the remaining 40%, though BP
and Shell
also make use of its facilities. As the fifth largest oil depot in the UK, it had a capacity of approximately 60 million gallons (273 million litres) of fuel, although it was not always at capacity. It previously filled 400 tanker lorries every day and handled around 2.37 million tonnes of oil products every year.
In March 2008 BP announced it will soon be restarting some operations at the site with the storage and supply of aviation fuel to Heathrow. BP must comply with more than 50 safety conditions including refurbished tanks and an improved alarm system.
The site consists of a northern and a southern portion, with the southern being used by BP and the northern portion being divided into 3 sectors; HOSL West, the BPA area, and HOSL East. Texaco, Total and Shell use HOSL West and HOSL East, while the BPA area is occupied by facilities of the British Pipeline Agency
(BPA), mostly for aviation fuel. HOSL West was the main site in the northern portion of HOSL, and was used for storage of a variety of fuels excluding aviation fuel
and kerosene
, which are stored at BPA. The fire destroyed most of HOSL West and the BPA area.
Oil depot
An oil depot is an industrial facility for the storage of oil and/or petrochemical products and from which these products are usually transported to end users or further storage facilities...
located on the edge of Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
to the north of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 2005 it exploded and became the location of the largest fire in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Construction and operation
Some local residents remember that the site was used during the second World War to provide fuel for the bombers at RAF BovingdonRAF Bovingdon
RAF Bovingdon was a Royal Air Force station, located to the west of Bovingdon, two and a half miles south of Hemel Hempstead and two and a half miles south east of Berkhamsted, in Hertfordshire, UK....
.
The expanded site was opened in 1968 after a pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
was constructed to link two Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
refineries in Stanlow in the North West of England at Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, and Shell Haven
Shell Haven
Shell Haven was a port on the north bank of the Thames Estuary at the eastern end of Thurrock, Essex, England and then an oil refinery. The refinery closed in 1999 and the site was purchased by DP World who received planning consent in May 2007 for the new London Gateway deep water container port...
on the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
at Stanford-le-Hope
Stanford-le-Hope
Stanford-le-Hope is a town and Church of England parish situated in the county of Essex, England. The town is within the unitary authority of Thurrock and located 23.8 miles east of Charing Cross in London...
in Thurrock
Thurrock
Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council....
. The pipeline allowed "white oil" products, such as petrol and diesel, to be transported cheaply and efficiently across the country. Along with Buncefield, a number of other pipeline-fed installations were built at the same time. These depots were always shared by the oil companies who have benefited together from the lower costs compared with other transportation methods. However, when they opened, such depots, including Buncefield, sometimes became difficult to manage from an industrial relations perspective. Drivers and other operatives from different oil companies, but members of the same Trades Union, usually the Transport and General Workers Union, were able to coordinate their industrial action more effectively by being on the same site as one another. In 1990 a further pipeline was completed, linking the site to the Lindsey Oil Refinery
Lindsey Oil Refinery
Lindsey Oil Refinery is a Total owned oil refinery on Eastfield Road in North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire, England. It lies immediately north of the Humber Refinery owned by rival oil company ConocoPhillips, being north of the railway line to Immingham Docks. The former RAF North Killingholme...
in Humberside
Humberside
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East and West ridings of Yorkshire and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire...
.
Before the fire, which devastated over a quarter of the site, the terminal was the fifth largest oil depot in the UK with pipelines to Humberside, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
and Heathrow and Gatwick airports radiating from it. The terminal operator is Total
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
, which owns 60% of the depot, with Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
owning the remaining 40%, though BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
and Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
also make use of its facilities. As the fifth largest oil depot in the UK, it had a capacity of approximately 60 million gallons (273 million litres) of fuel, although it was not always at capacity. It previously filled 400 tanker lorries every day and handled around 2.37 million tonnes of oil products every year.
In March 2008 BP announced it will soon be restarting some operations at the site with the storage and supply of aviation fuel to Heathrow. BP must comply with more than 50 safety conditions including refurbished tanks and an improved alarm system.
The site consists of a northern and a southern portion, with the southern being used by BP and the northern portion being divided into 3 sectors; HOSL West, the BPA area, and HOSL East. Texaco, Total and Shell use HOSL West and HOSL East, while the BPA area is occupied by facilities of the British Pipeline Agency
British Pipeline Agency
British Pipeline Agency Ltd is a joint venture between BP Oil UK and Shell UK. The company owns and operates the UK oil pipeline network of oil and gas pipelines which transport petroleum products and natural gas around the UK. Storage facilities operated by BPA include the Hertfordshire Oil...
(BPA), mostly for aviation fuel. HOSL West was the main site in the northern portion of HOSL, and was used for storage of a variety of fuels excluding aviation fuel
Aviation fuel
Aviation fuel is a specialized type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft. It is generally of a higher quality than fuels used in less critical applications, such as heating or road transport, and often contains additives to reduce the risk of icing or explosion due to high temperatures,...
and kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
, which are stored at BPA. The fire destroyed most of HOSL West and the BPA area.
See also
- Industry and commerce in Hemel Hempstead
- Government Pipelines and Storage SystemGovernment Pipelines and Storage SystemThe Government Pipelines and Storage System is a United Kingdom pipeline system run by the Oil and Pipelines Agency for the MOD. The network consists of some 2,500 kilometres of pipeline and 46 other facilities. The network is interconnected with several private networks...
- 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fireThe Buncefield fire was a major conflagration caused by a series of explosions on 11 December 2005 at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal, an oil storage facility located near the M1 motorway by Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England. The terminal was the fifth largest oil-products...
- 2009 Jaipur fire2009 Jaipur fireThe Jaipur oil depot fire broke out on 29 October 2009 at 7:30 PM at the Indian Oil Corporation oil depot's giant tank holding of oil, in Sitapura Industrial Area on the outskirts of Jaipur, Rajasthan, killing 12 people and injuring over 200...
- Esso Refinery, Milford HavenEsso Refinery, Milford HavenThe Esso Refinery at Milford Haven was an oil refinery situated on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. Construction started in 1957 and the refinery was opened in 1960 by Duke of Edinburgh. Construction cost £18million and the refinery had the capacity to process 4.5million tons of crude oil a...
- Grangemouth RefineryGrangemouth RefineryGrangemouth refinery is a mature complex oil refinery located on the Firth of Forth in Grangemouth, Scotland.Currently operated by Ineos, it is Scotland's only oil refinery , and is also the UK's second-oldest; it supplies refined products to customers in Scotland, northern England, Northern...
External links
- Download review of reports on Buncefield- Compiled by LINK Associates International
- Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL) — Official site
- Guardian Unlimited Special report: Oil depot explosion collection by The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
of articles, pictures and an interactive guide