Located in the New York Harbour area, BP’s Carteret terminal is a major hub for fuel supply on the US East Coast. Every day, thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel are transported, blended and stored by the Carteret team and then shipped out to serve the largest metropolitan area in the United States.

1. FACTFILE
ADAYINTHELIFE BP CARTERET FUEL TERMINAL
NEW JERSEY, US
HARBOUR
LIFELocated in the New York
Harbour area, BP’s Carteret
terminal is a major hub for fuel
supply on the US East Coast.
Every day, thousands of gallons
of gasoline and diesel are
transported, blended and stored
by the Carteret team and then
shipped out to serve the largest
metropolitan area in the United
States.
The nerve centre of Carteret
TerminalmanagerJackCowart
beginsthebusyworkdayfromhis
office,wherehecoordinatesthe
activitiesandoperationsforthe
teamthatworksatthesprawling
facility.
In the dock house
BPCarteretemployeesCharlie
McGee,standing,andAnthony
Williams,workoutthedetailsfor
movingbargesinandoutofthe
terminal’sbusydock,whichis
locatedontheArthurKill.(Arthur
KillisanAnglicizationofthe
Dutchterm,achterkill,meaning
backchannel.)
Bringing in fuel
Atdawn,abargeisberthedat
thedock,whereBPemployees
managethedailymovement
ofproducttoandfromthe
terminal’sstoragetanks.The
ArthurKillprovidesaccessto
bargesandocean-goingships.
MARKET SHARE
Largest of any
distributor in the region.
REGION
Population of the
New Jersey-New York
City Metropolitan Area,
about 20 million.
OPERATIONS
24/7Every day of the year.
About 30 employees
and on, any given day,
20 to 60 contractors.
SIZE
168acresMore than three times
the size of BP’s Westlake
campus in Houston.
ANNUAL
THROUGHPUT
15.8million barrels.
STORAGE TANKS
16Above-ground
storage tanks with a
combined capacity of
1.2 million barrels.
All tied up
TerminaltechnicianJohnNitch,front,
andoperatorJimVieringfinishthejob
ofsecuringmooringlinestoarecently
arrivedbarge.TheBPterminalcan
receiveproductfromtwoseparate
pipelines,barges,orships.
Making connections
Afterdocking,Viering,left,and
Nitchhandlealargehoseusedto
pumpproductintothestoragetank
system.BP’sCarteretfacilityis
operatedjointlywiththeadjacent
KinderMorganterminal.
The tankers keep rolling in
ShiftsupervisorWilsonTubie
isamemberoftheteamthat
coordinatesthecomplexmovement
offuelthroughthefacility’sintricate
networkofpipes,manifoldsand
storagetanks.Carteretblends
differentgradesoffuelthatissold
acrosstheregion.Tubiestandsby
oneofthemanytankertrucksthat
takeonfuel24hoursaday,everyday
oftheyear.
The fuel heads to market
Atruckdriverconnectsahoseto
anemptytankerinpreparationfor
loadingthousandsofgallonsof
fuel.Tankerdriversmustundergo
periodicsafetytrainingatthe
BPfacilityandadheretoastringent
setofprocedures,includingthe
wearingofhelmetsandgloves
beforebeingallowedtopullintothe
fuelrackforloading.
Dockside pipes
Aftersunset,anotherbargeis
mooredandproductispumped
throughamazeofpipes.Thedock-
lineblockvalvesarecolour-codedin
ordertotelltheoperatorswhattype
ofproductisinthepipe.
Ongoing inspections
Thefuelisstoredintheterminal’s
tankfarm.BPemployeesgoover
acheck-listaspartofaregular
inspection,inwhichthetanks
aredrained,examined,andthen
certified.