11th December 2005

The oil industry is working together to assess the impact of the incident at Buncefield terminal Hemel Hempstead, owned jointly by Total UK and Texaco which occurred at approximately 06.00 today, examining how the supply of petroleum products can be provided from other distribution terminals.

There are three main elements to the Buncefield complex; one operated by Total, and adjacent similar facilities operated by BP, and a pipeline control centre operated by British Pipeline Agency for United Kingdom Oil Pipelines.

Buncefield is the fifth largest storage/distribution terminal in the UK and handles refined petroleum products that include petrol, diesel, jet fuel and heating fuel. These fuels are distributed by a combination of road tankers and pipeline.