Oregon does not refine its own transportation fuels. It depends almost entirely on production from five major refineries in Washington State, the only refineries in the Pacific Northwest. This region is largely isolated from the rest of the United States in what could be thought of an energy island that does not benefit from the extensive interconnections seen in other fuel markets. Crude oil flows into Washington primarily from Canada via pipeline, supplemented by volumes delivered by waterborne vessel and rail from North Dakota. Those five Washington refineries collectively produce the gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and renewable fuels consumed across Washington, Oregon, and portions of Northern California.
Oregon sits downstream in this tightly balanced system. Once Washington demand is met, excess refined product moves south through scheduled pipeline batches, with limited supplemental volumes arriving by barge into the Portland Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub. From there, fuel is distributed by truck throughout the state. Because Oregon has no in-state refining capacity, any constraint on storage or logistics at the CEI Hub directly affects fuel availability, cost stability, and supply reliability across the state.
Limiting working tank capacity at the CEI Hub does not reduce risk. It increases supply vulnerability in a region already defined by a dependency on efficient logistics.
How the System Actually Works
Fuel logistics operate as a continuous flow system. Product moves from refineries through pipelines, marine vessels, and rail into terminals, and from there by truck to consumers. Storage tanks are not static containers designed to remain full; they are dynamic operating assets that fill and empty with delivery schedules, product batching requirements, and shifts in demand. Variability in tank levels is not inefficiency; it is how the system maintains balance.
When working capacity is restricted, that balance tightens immediately. Pipeline batches cannot be received without sufficient available space. Marine deliveries may be delayed or diverted. Operators lose the ability to build precautionary inventories ahead of winter storms, seismic risk, or refinery maintenance. The CEI Hub functions as the system’s operational buffer. Constraining tank flexibility reduces the region’s ability to absorb shocks and increases volatility throughout the supply chain.
Tank Working Capacity: A Built-In Engineering Safety Measure
Fuel storage tanks are designed with built-in safety margins and are not intended to operate at 100 percent of their physical volume. Each tank contains dedicated vapor space to safely manage pressure and comply with environmental requirements, as well as a heel volume that protects pumps and mechanical systems. The remaining working space provides the operational flexibility needed to safely receive pipeline deliveries, segregate products, and manage volume swings.
What may appear to be “unused” space is, in fact, intentional safety design and logistical resilience. Reducing working capacity does not enhance safety; it removes engineered flexibility that stabilizes the system.
Compounding Pressures: More Renewable Fuels, Less Flexibility
Oregon has set ambitious goals to increase renewable diesel and biodiesel volumes in the transportation fuel mix. These fuels often require separate accounting and, in some cases, physical segregation to prevent co-mingling. That increases, not decreases, the need for flexible storage capacity. At the same time, pathways for permitting new tanks remain uncertain.
Reducing usable working capacity while increasing fuel differentiation creates structural strain within a system that already depends on precision scheduling with no “in-house” production capability. Operators are expected to manage more complex product streams within a smaller operational footprint. That contradiction does not accelerate the clean energy transition; it makes compliance more difficult and the supply system more fragile.
Conclusion: Protecting Fuel Resilience While Advancing Clean Energy
Oregon’s clean fuel ambitions and its energy reliability are not competing priorities, but they depend on operational reality. Current working tank capacity at the CEI Hub is not surplus inventory. It is an engineered safeguard that enables safe operations, reliable pipeline receipt, renewable fuel segregation, and emergency preparedness in a region with only five refineries and limited alternatives.
Limiting working capacity does not deliver meaningful safety or environmental benefits. It introduces risk, tightens supply, increases volatility, and weakens the resilience of Oregon’s fuel system. True resilience comes from maximizing infrastructure, preserving the operational flexibility that keeps the state’s economy moving. Resilience requires capacity.