Get your tank farm read.
Tell us the area and we will scope the tanks in it.
A fill-level estimate for every floating-roof tank in your area.
Oil Tank Fill reads the shadow inside each visible floating-roof tank on each usable daily pass and returns one estimate per tank for the area you define.
01
Files in the delivery
| File | Format | What's in it |
|---|---|---|
| Per-tank fill estimate | CSV, GeoJSON | One row or feature per floating-roof tank in your area, per day. Each carries a tank ID, location, the date and time of the pass, the estimated fill level and a flag for the tank's read status. It loads straight into a stock model or a GIS layer. |
| Daily area update | Daily file | A new file for every day with a usable pass. Tanks that could not be read that day are listed and flagged, so a gap in your series is visible instead of silently carried forward. |
| Tank-by-tank imagery | Image chips | The pass behind each estimate, cropped to the tank, so you can look at the roof and shadow yourself before you lean on the number. |
| Area storage trend | CSV | The tank-level estimates rolled up across your tank farm or hub into one daily series, with the count of tanks read that day beside it. A build or a draw shows up as a direction in the series. |
02
How it works
- 01You supply
Define the area
You send the tank farm or hub as a boundary, or a list of tanks by terminal. We check which of the tanks in it are floating-roof and list them back to you.
- 02We collect
Daily pass
Panchromatic VHR imagery of the area is collected each day there is a usable pass.
- 03We measure
Shadow measured
For each tank, the inner shadow on the roof is measured against the outer shadow on the ground. The ratio gives the roof height as a share of the shell.
- 04You receive
Estimate delivered
The per-tank file, the imagery chips and the area trend arrive in the format you agreed, with skipped tanks flagged.
03
Operating envelope
| Condition | Effect on the delivery |
|---|---|
| Floating-roof tanks only | The method reads the shadow on a floating roof. Fixed-roof tanks have no roof moving with the level and are not estimated. They appear in the tank list as excluded. |
| Cloud | A tank under cloud on the day of the pass is skipped, or read on the next clear pass. Cadence is a daily target, not a guarantee. |
| Sun angle | The inner shadow depends on where the sun is. A tank whose shadow does not show clearly in that day's pass, such as a roof near the rim, is flagged instead of guessed. |
| Resolution | At ≤0.5 m a pixel is half a meter or finer. A large tank is many pixels across and its shadow edge is visible. Small tanks and very thin shadows get less certain, and the flag says so. |
| A geometric estimate | The output is a fill level from visible geometry. It is not a gauged volume, it carries no barrel count and no accuracy percentage, and it should not be quoted as an operator's inventory. |
| Fill level only | No crude grade, product type or quality. Tank bottoms and working storage are not separated either. |
04
Why this exists
Between the Wednesday EIA release and the next one, the hub line in your stock model is an estimate with nothing under it. Operators disclose on their own schedule and the industry surveys cover only part of a tank farm. When the desk asks whether the hub is building or drawing, you have a number from last week and a phone call to someone who may not pick up. This gives you a read from the tanks themselves, from the latest usable pass.
05
Who it's for
- Crude traders and trading analysts who want a daily storage read ahead of the weekly release.
- Fundamentals and storage analysts who load tank-level data into their own stock model.
- Energy-agency analysts tracking storage across a hub or a group of tank farms.
Who it's not for
- Desks that require a certified, audited or operator-disclosed inventory figure.
- Teams with fixed-roof tank farms, where the method does not work.
- Product or grade tracking, which needs a different source.
- Real-time monitoring. Cadence is daily and cloud-dependent.
06
Questions from analysts
How accurate is the estimate?
It is a geometric estimate from visible shadow. We publish no accuracy percentage. Compare it with your own series over a few weeks and judge it against what you trust.
Does it work on fixed-roof tanks?
No. The method needs a floating roof's shadow, so fixed-roof tanks are listed and excluded.
What happens when a tank is under cloud?
That tank is skipped for the day and flagged. The read resumes on the next usable pass.
Can I check it against my own data?
Yes. The imagery chips are included so you can inspect the pass behind any tank, and the per-tank file is built to sit next to your own inventory series.
Can you tell me the crude grade?
No. Fill level only.
Is this the same as the operator's inventory?
No. It is an independent imagery-based estimate, and it will not match a company-disclosed figure exactly.
How do I get it into my model?
As CSV or GeoJSON. Tell us what your model or GIS expects when you scope the area.
How is it priced?
Scoped by the size of the area and the tanks in it. A person will walk you through it when you get started.