Tank inventory automation: The future of storage management in oil and gas

A terminal supervisor at a major midstream facility recently shared a frustrating but all-too-common scenario: "We had a critical shipment arriving in two hours, but I couldn't get a straight answer on available tank capacity. My team was running between tanks with measuring tapes while the vessel was already approaching our berth. We ended up scrambling to divert 40,000 barrels to an alternate facility, costing us $15,000 in demurrage fees and damaging our relationship with a key customer."

This scenario plays out daily across oil and gas operations worldwide. Despite decades of technological advancement, many facilities still rely on manual processes for tank inventory management, creating operational blind spots that directly impact safety, efficiency, and profitability. The industry has recognized this challenge: the global inventory tank gauging system market reached $682.3 million in 2024 and is projected to grow at 2.82 percent^[1] annually, reaching $887.8 million by 2033. The broader oil and gas terminal automation market tells an even more compelling story, expected to double from $1.6 billion in 2025 to $3.2 billion^[2] by 2035.

The challenge isn't just about technology adoption. It's about finding solutions that strengthen existing operational discipline without disrupting the core systems that keep operations running. This is where Kissflow's digital operations backbone approach proves transformative, trusted by over 20 major oil and gas enterprises to digitize critical workflows while coexisting with existing SAP, Oracle, Maximo, and SCADA systems.

The hidden costs of manual tank monitoring processes

Walk through any terminal or storage facility, and you'll witness the inefficiencies that manual tank monitoring creates. Field operators spend significant time physically checking levels, recording measurements on paper forms, and manually entering data into multiple systems. This approach creates a cascade of operational challenges that extend far beyond simple inconvenience.

Data inconsistency represents one of the most significant issues. When multiple operators take readings using different techniques or equipment, measurement variations can create substantial discrepancies. A recent analysis at a major downstream facility revealed that manual reading variations were causing inventory reconciliation differences of up to 3 percent, translating to millions in unexplained losses annually.

Operational delays compound these problems. Paper-based reconciliation processes create bottlenecks where critical information takes hours or days to reach decision-makers. During this lag time, opportunities for optimal scheduling disappear, and operational risks increase. TotalEnergies discovered this firsthand when they implemented Kissflow across 85 processes in 8 countries, achieving 40-60 percent faster approval cycles by eliminating manual handoffs.

Limited visibility across multiple storage locations creates what operations managers call "terminal blindness." Without real-time data integration, facilities struggle to coordinate effectively even within the same network. This lack of coordination leads to suboptimal capacity utilization, increased risk of stock-outs or overfilling, and difficulty planning efficient terminal operations.

Resource allocation suffers when experienced operators spend valuable time on routine readings instead of applying their expertise to higher-value activities requiring human judgment. Puma Energy addressed this challenge by implementing 80 use cases across their operations, achieving a 73 percent productivity increase by redirecting skilled personnel to strategic activities.

Building real-time visibility with integrated ATG systems

Modern automated tank gauging systems provide the foundation for effective tank inventory automation, but their true value emerges when integrated with digital operations platforms. These sophisticated systems capture liquid level measurements with precision to approximately 1mm under reference conditions, along with temperature readings, pressure monitoring, water detection, and product density calculations.

The connectivity options available today transform how facilities access this data. Wireless protocols significantly reduce installation costs while enabling high-precision data availability across entire facilities. Cellular connections provide backup communication paths, while satellite communications serve remote locations. Cloud integration enables enterprise-wide visibility that was previously impossible with standalone systems.

McDermott International exemplifies this integration approach. By implementing 450 processes on Kissflow's platform, they achieved 10X ROI while maintaining their existing operational systems. The key wasn't replacing their infrastructure but strengthening it with digital workflows that enhanced existing capabilities.

When ATG data integrates with midstream asset monitoring platforms like Kissflow, operations teams gain capabilities that manual processes simply cannot provide. Real-time data visualization through intuitive dashboards eliminates waiting for manual readings. Digital ullage reports generate accurate available space calculations essential for planning incoming shipments and preventing dangerous overfill conditions.

A midstream operator with 200+ storage tanks across multiple terminals demonstrates the operational impact. After implementing integrated ATG solutions, they reduced inventory reconciliation time from days to hours while improving measurement accuracy by over 97 percent. The system's 99.9 percent uptime in live oilfield environments ensures continuous operational support without disrupting existing infrastructure.

Implementing proactive deviation management workflows

The transformation from reactive to proactive tank management represents one of the most significant operational improvements that automation delivers. Traditional approaches discover issues during routine inspections or after problems have already occurred. Modern pipeline integrity software and storage management systems enable intervention before small issues become major incidents.

Automated monitoring systems continuously track unexpected level changes indicating potential leaks, pressure fluctuations beyond normal operating ranges, temperature anomalies affecting product quality, rapid changes in water content, and unexplained inventory discrepancies. These threshold-based alerts use customizable rules based on historical performance data, equipment specifications, regulatory requirements, seasonal variations, and product-specific characteristics.

Kissflow's digital operations backbone approach ensures these alerts trigger immediate, structured responses. Automated notification routing sends alerts to appropriate personnel based on severity and type. Critical safety issues reach safety teams and operations managers instantly, maintenance concerns route to technical staff, and inventory discrepancies notify accounting and terminal management.

Escalation procedures prevent issues from falling through operational cracks. If initial responses aren't acknowledged or resolved within defined timeframes, alerts automatically escalate to ensure appropriate attention. All actions taken in response to alerts are documented in the system, creating comprehensive audit trails for compliance and process improvement.

A major upstream operator using Kissflow for well handover workflows and incident tracking reported 70 percent reduction in manual handoffs and 30-50 percent more efficient compliance reporting. The system's ability to coexist with existing SCADA and process control systems meant implementation didn't disrupt ongoing operations while dramatically improving response times and documentation quality.

Creating comprehensive operational intelligence through data integration

Advanced oil and gas storage management extends beyond simple tank monitoring by integrating ATG data with broader enterprise systems. This integration creates operational intelligence platforms that transform decision-making across the entire organization.

Modern implementations integrate data from enterprise resource planning systems, terminal management systems, maintenance management platforms, weather prediction services, supply chain management tools, and transportation scheduling systems. This comprehensive data integration enables more accurate demand forecasting, better coordination between procurement and storage, optimized terminal throughput planning, enhanced maintenance scheduling, and reduced working capital requirements.

Basin Oil & Gas implemented this integrated approach for their upstream operations, using Kissflow to coordinate production loss reporting, SIMOPS coordination, and maintenance deferrals with their existing systems. The result was faster decisions, full compliance, and millions saved in lost productivity and delay costs.

Remote tank monitoring solutions incorporating predictive analytics transform operational management beyond simple automation. Machine learning algorithms identify subtle patterns indicating equipment issues before they become visible to human operators. Inventory optimization recommendations balance working capital efficiency with operational requirements based on historical consumption patterns and current inventory levels.

A unified dashboard presenting correlated data provides terminal managers with unprecedented operational visibility. Instead of piecing together information from multiple systems, they can make decisions based on comprehensive views of current conditions and future projections. This approach aligns with Kissflow's philosophy of strengthening existing operational discipline rather than disrupting proven processes.

Developing customized workflows with low-code automation

The complexity of implementing tank inventory automation has historically created barriers for many organizations. Traditional solutions required extensive customization by specialized developers, resulting in lengthy and expensive projects. Kissflow's low-code digital operations backbone transforms this landscape by enabling operations and IT teams to collaboratively design processes matching their specific needs.

The platform's 100+ validated use cases spanning upstream, midstream, downstream, and EPC operations provide proven templates while allowing customization for specific operational requirements. Common workflows include automated reconciliation processes flagging discrepancies, dispatch approval workflows based on current inventory levels, exception handling for off-spec product detection, maintenance scheduling triggered by sensor readings, and compliance documentation processes.

Essar implemented this approach for their downstream operations, developing permit tracking and retail compliance workflows that integrated seamlessly with their existing systems. The user-friendly interfaces provide terminal operators with tank status information, schedulers with capacity and throughput data, maintenance teams with equipment performance metrics, and managers with KPI reporting and exception alerts.

The evolutionary implementation approach minimizes disruption while delivering incremental value. Organizations typically begin with basic automation and gradually expand capabilities as teams become comfortable with the technology. A midstream operator might start with automated tank level reporting, add inventory reconciliation workflows, integrate with scheduling systems, and eventually implement predictive maintenance capabilities using the same platform.

This flexibility enables organizations to achieve the 450 percent ROI in 2.8 months that Nucleus Research documented, while maintaining the 99.9 percent system uptime critical for continuous operations.

Achieving compliance excellence through automated documentation

Regulatory compliance represents one of the most time-consuming aspects of tank inventory management, but automated systems transform this burden into a competitive advantage. Modern platforms provide automated record-keeping that eliminates paper logs, time-stamped data creating unalterable audit trails, exception reports highlighting potential compliance issues, emission calculations based on actual movement data, and automated regulatory reporting reducing manual effort.

The visualization capabilities available through comprehensive dashboards include real-time tank level visualization, multi-site overview maps, threshold indicators with color coding, trend analysis graphs, capacity utilization metrics, and movement scheduling interfaces. These tools enable operations teams to monitor dozens or hundreds of tanks across multiple locations from single interfaces while maintaining comprehensive documentation for regulatory purposes.

PTG Energy implemented these capabilities for their downstream operations, achieving significant reductions in compliance documentation time while improving accuracy and creating more robust audit trails. The system's integration with existing Oracle and SAP systems meant data flowed seamlessly between operational and financial systems without requiring system replacements.

Companies implementing comprehensive tank inventory automation typically report 40-60 percent reduction in time spent on compliance documentation, 25-30 percent improvement in terminal throughput capacity, 15-20 percent reduction in working capital requirements through optimized inventory levels, and significant reductions in unplanned downtime through early issue detection.

Balancing operational agility with enterprise governance

Enterprise-scale implementations require balancing operational flexibility with IT governance requirements. This balance is particularly critical in oil and gas operations where operational excellence and data security are paramount. Kissflow addresses this challenge through flexible permission structures with role-based access controls, granular permission settings, approval workflows for system changes, and audit trails for all configuration modifications.

Secure integration methods include encrypted data transmission, API-based integrations with enterprise systems, authentication protocols for third-party connections, and data validation ensuring integrity. IT governance capabilities provide centralized policy management, compliance with enterprise security standards, version control for workflow definitions, and testing environments for process validation.

This governance framework ensures operational teams can build and modify workflows to meet their needs while IT maintains control over core security and integration requirements. The result delivers both the agility required by operations and the governance demanded by enterprise IT.

Modec's EPC operations exemplify this balance, using Kissflow for scope change workflows, delay event tracking, vendor drawing approvals, and safety critical equipment compliance while maintaining strict project management and quality control standards.

Transforming storage management for operational excellence

Tank inventory automation represents more than technological advancement. It's a fundamental shift toward operational excellence that strengthens existing capabilities while enabling new levels of efficiency, safety, and compliance. The benefits extend across entire organizations, with operations teams gaining real-time visibility and control, maintenance staff receiving early warning of potential issues, scheduling and logistics improving throughput and utilization, finance departments benefiting from accurate inventory valuation and reduced working capital, and compliance teams maintaining comprehensive and accurate documentation.

The industry's trajectory toward automation is clear, with the oil and gas terminal automation market projected to double by 2035. Industry leaders recognize these technologies' strategic value for remaining competitive in increasingly challenging markets. For oil and gas companies, tank inventory automation isn't just operational improvement; it's a strategic necessity that transforms how they manage critical assets.

Kissflow's digital operations backbone approach provides the proven foundation for this transformation. Trusted by over 20 major oil and gas enterprises, the platform delivers AI-accelerated app development with validated use cases across all operational segments. The emphasis on coexisting with existing systems rather than replacing them ensures implementations strengthen operational discipline while minimizing disruption.

The quantified results speak for themselves: 450 percent ROI in 2.8 months, 40-60 percent faster approval cycles, 70 percent reduction in manual handoffs, and 30-50 percent more efficient compliance reporting. These metrics represent real operational improvements that directly impact safety, efficiency, and profitability.