Oil storage regulations for businesses

How to store oil, design standards for tanks and containers, where to locate and how to protect them, and capacity of bunds and drip trays.

You must follow the rules on storing oil if you’ve got an oil storage container with a capacity of 201 litres or more at a:

You must also follow these rules if you’ve got an oil storage container with a capacity of 3,501 litres or more at a home, including barges and houseboats.

Storage containers include:

You could be fined or prosecuted if you do not follow the requirements in this guide. The Environment Agency can also serve an anti-pollution works notice to make you bring your oil store up to legal standards.

There are separate requirements for storing agricultural fuel oil on a farm in England or Wales for agricultural purposes, for example as fuel for a tractor or to power a grain dryer.

But you must follow the rules for businesses in this guide if you store oil on a farm for non-agricultural business purposes, for example to fuel lorries or trucks.

You must follow the rules in this guide if you store any of the following types of oil:

Grease is a mixture of oil and other substances, usually soap, and is viscous unless heated. We may ask for grease to be stored on a drip tray, but we expect that containers are either below 200 litres or stored indoors.

You do not need to follow the rules if you store any of the following substances, which are not classed as oil or are impractical to provide secondary containment for:

You must follow the rules in this guide if you store waste vegetable oil, waste cooking oil or waste synthetic oil.

You do not need to follow them if you store any of the following types of waste oil but you should check if you need an environmental permit:

You do not need to follow these rules if your storage containers are:

If you store oil in a building, you may need to meet additional fire safety measures under the Building Regulations – contact your local council to discuss whether this is the case for your store.

If the building is on a farm in England or Wales, you must meet the requirements for storing agricultural fuel oil.

Oil depots at airports owned by oil companies are considered premises for onward distribution. These rules do not apply to them, but they do apply to oil depots at airports owned by airlines.

Marina ‘service boats’ are not considered premises for onward distribution, if they sell oil directly to boat owners. These rules apply to service boats.

These rules apply to any of the following generators that have a connected oil supply tank with a capacity of 201 litres or more:

Your container must be strong enough not to burst or leak in ordinary use.

Fixed tanks that meet the design standard are any made to British Standard 5410, or:

OFTEC is a trade association for the oil heating and cooking industry.

If you get a drum or IBC marked with the letters ‘UN’ for United Nations it will meet the design standard.

Contact the Environment Agency if your container does not meet one of these standards or have a UN marking, and you want to discuss whether it's strong enough and has enough structural integrity.

You must position your container somewhere that minimises the risk of it being damaged by impact, for example away from driveways, tanker turning circles and fork lift truck routes.

Or you must make sure that any impact will not damage the container, for example by placing barriers or bollards around the tank.

If you fill your container via a remote fill pipe you must use a drip tray to catch any oil that may be spilled during the delivery.

A remote fill is when you fill your container at a fill point that's outside the secondary containment (the bund or drip tray designed to capture leaks from the container). During a remote fill, the tank might not be visible from the fill point.

You must install secondary containment around your container to catch any oil that leaks.

Secondary containment is usually either:

Fixed tanks must be bunded. Other containers can be bunded or use drip trays.

Secondary containment does not include:

If you use a bund, it must hold 110% of the capacity of the container. If you do not have a bund, check your secondary containment has the required capacity, depending on what kind of container it's holding.

The secondary containment for a drum (usually a drip tray) must have a capacity equal to or more than one quarter of the drum it's holding.

If the drip tray can hold more than one drum, it must be able to hold one quarter of the combined capacity of the drums it can hold. This applies even if you only use the tray to hold a single drum. For example, a drip tray which can hold 4 separate 205-litre drums must have a capacity of 205 litres, even if you’re only using it to hold a single 205 litre drum.

For fixed tanks, mobile bowsers, IBCs and other single containers, the secondary containment must have capacity to hold 110% of the capacity of the container.

For example if your container has a capacity of 2,500 litres, your secondary containment must have capacity for 2,750 litres.

Secondary containment that contains multiple fixed tanks, mobile bowsers or IBCs, must have a capacity that is equal to whichever is the greater of these 2 measurements:

If the containers are hydraulically linked, they should be treated as a single container, so the secondary containment must have a capacity of 110% of the combined capacity.

If the containers are hydraulically linked, but have separate secondary containment, each separate secondary bund or drip tray must have a capacity of at least 110% of the combined capacity of all the containers.

If you hydraulically link the secondary drip trays or bunds together, you can count the combined capacity of the bunds or drip trays.

Bunds can either be:

For bunds of either variety you must make sure:

Bunds constructed from masonry and concrete are likely to need a rendering or coating on the internal surfaces of the base and walls to make them impermeable.

The Construction Research and Information Association (CIRIA) has published advice on how to construct bunds that meet these requirements.

Fixed tanks must be bunded – you cannot use a drip tray for them.

Sight gauges must:

Fill pipes, draw-off pipes and overflow pipes must be positioned in a location that minimises the risk of damage by impact, for example away from driveways, tanker turning circles and fork lift truck routes.

Or you must make sure they will not be damaged by any impact, for example placing barriers or bollards around them.

Any pipework above the ground must be properly supported, for example by a bracket connected to the nearest wall.

If your fixed tank has a flexible pipe permanently attached to it to dispense oil, the pipe must be in a secure cabinet that:

Alternatively, all of the following must apply:

Whether the pipe is in a secure cabinet or within the bund, it must also have a tap or valve at the delivery end that closes automatically when the pipe is not in use.

This tap or valve must not be able to be fixed open unless it also has an automatic cut off mechanism.

If your fixed tank has a pump, the pump must:

If your fixed tank has any permanently attached vent pipes, taps or valves that oil can leave the tank through, all pipes, taps and valves must:

We consider that an isolating valve or filter on a fixed draw-off pipe, fitted outside an integrally bunded tank, is ancillary to the downstream equipment, not to the container. Therefore it can be outside the secondary containment. You must make sure the valve and filter are accessible for routine maintenance and emergencies.

An isolating valve on a single skinned, twin walled or double skinned tank, within a constructed secondary containment system, must be within the secondary containment.

If the vent pipe of a fixed tank, and the tank itself, cannot be seen from where the tank is filled you must fit an automatic overfill prevention device to the tank. This could be something that cuts off the flow of oil to the tank when it's full, or an alarm or fixed tank probe that sends a signal to alert the person filling the tank when the tank is full.

If the fill point of your fixed tank has a screw fitting or fixed coupling, it must be used when you’re having your tank filled.

Your screw fitting or fixed coupling must be kept in good working order.

Each time you get your tank filled, make sure the screw fitting or fixed coupling is not becoming corroded and that debris is not getting trapped in it.

If your tank has underground pipework, you must make sure the pipework is protected from physical damage, for example by:

If the pipework is made of a material that can be corroded such as steel or copper, you must also make sure it's protected against corrosion, for example by:

You must check any underground pipes attached to your fixed tank for leaks.

You can fit a permanent leak detection device to the pipework that identifies leaks by, for example:

You must maintain any permanent leak checking device in working order and test it at appropriate intervals – check the manufacturer's instructions.

If you do not fit a permanent leak detection device you must test your underground pipework for leaks when you install it and then:

A mechanical joint is a fitting used to connect 2 or more pieces of separate pipe, such as compression or threaded fittings.

Welded, braised or soldered joints and continuous pipework made from metal or plastic are not mechanical joints.

If your underground pipework contains mechanical joints, you must also be able to visually inspect each joint at any time.

If your bowser has a permanently attached tap or valve through which oil can leave the bowser:

Your bowser must have locks on appropriate pipes, pumps and valves so oil cannot flow when not in use. The lock should be on one or more of the following:

Updated the 'oil types' section to include hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

We’ve added clarification about where you can fit isolating valves and filters downstream of integrally bunded tanks.

Section 'Oil types': added content about 'grease' and clarified - when you do not need to follow rules 'if impractical to provide secondary containment' and 'hydrocarbon products'.

Added 2 more oil types: cutting fluids and insulating oils

First published.