Strategic and Compulsory Stocks

Who holds emergency stocks

Reserve systems vary by country. Some governments own and store stocks directly. Many use a central stockholding entity, an agency that owns stocks or contracts for them on the state's behalf. Others place the obligation on industry, requiring importers, refiners or distributors to hold a set number of days of supply. Many systems combine these approaches, and any of them can use third-party tankage.

Owned stocks and tickets

Not every emergency barrel is owned by the party that counts it. Under a ticket arrangement, the holder pays a fee for the right to buy a defined volume held by another company in an emergency. The barrels stay in the seller's ownership until the option is exercised. Ticketed stocks must still be physically present, identifiable and free of competing claims, and that is where storage records matter.

Long-term storage that stays fit for use

Stored oil does not stay the same forever. Gasoline loses light ends and forms gums as it oxidizes. Diesel and heating oil oxidize, collect water and can support microbial growth. Crude settles sludge and wax that reduce usable capacity. Each grade gets a condition-monitoring plan: sampling at set intervals, tests chosen for its known failure modes, and recorded water draining.

Tank integrity matters as much over ten years as over ten days. Tanks in long-term service are inspected under API 653 and protected against overfill under API 2350. Inspection outages are planned with the holder, so a tank can be emptied for internal inspection without breaching the obligation.

• Sampling and testing at intervals set for each grade
• Water bottoms drained and recorded
• Mixing or circulation for crude to limit sludge build-up
• Inspection outages planned with the reserve holder

Rotation without breaking the obligation

Rotation replaces aging stock with fresh product while the obligated volume stays in place. It can be done by selling old product and buying new, by exchanging with a commercial holder, or by drawing down one tank while another is refilled. The sequence is planned so the reserve does not fall below the obligated level unless the holder authorizes it.

Drawdown on short notice

Reserves are only useful if they can be released. A drawdown plan sets out which tanks release first, by which modes, at what loading rates, and who authorizes each step. We review the plan with the holder at agreed intervals and confirm that the berth, rail and truck capacity it assumes is still available.