Oil storage

This guidance is relevant to businesses that store oil at their premises. Oil includes:

  • Oil storage drumpetrol
  • diesel
  • central-heating oil
  • lubricating oil
  • mineral oil
  • vegetable and plant oil
  • heavy oils such as bitumen
  • oils used as solvents, such as paraffin or kerosene
  • waste oil.

Why you must store oil carefully

Preventing pollution

Oil accounts for over one quarter of all pollution incidents in the UK. Many drains lead directly to rivers, streams or lakes. If you allow oil to enter these drains, it has the same effect as pouring it directly into the watercourse.

Oil is poisonous to fish and other wildlife and it smothers plants. Just two litres of oil could seriously pollute the volume of fresh water needed to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool and make it undrinkable.

Avoiding prosecution and clean-up costs

You may be prosecuted and fined if oil from your site enters the ground or watercourses. And you may have to pay substantial clean-up costs. The Oil Storage Regulations are designed to prevent oil spills.

Help the environmental regulators develop good practice guidance that you can use to manage and reduce the risk of pollution from your fuel storage.

Respond to the consultation on Pollution prevention guideline (PPG) 7: safe operation of refuelling facilities by 4 November.

You can also comment on PPG22: dealing with spills until 22 October.

In this guideline:

Do the Oil Storage Regulations apply to you?
Which oils are not covered by the Oil Storage Regulations?
General requirements of the Oil Storage Regulations
Storing agricultural fuel oil
Storing oil in fixed tanks
Storing oil in mobile bowsers
Storing oil above ground - good practice guidance
Storing oil below ground - good practice guidance
Dealing with oil spills
Oil storage further information
Oil storage legislation