Operator and facility
Identify the legal operator, exact terminal, jurisdiction, business activity and official channels. Similar names and unofficial domains are common fraud vectors.
Commodity Knowledge Centre
Terminal & Storage
Test whether the location, operator, capacity, storage agreement and rights actually connect to the correct commodity and transaction.
Core verification controls
Treat each control as a separate evidential question. A credible transaction should remain coherent when the documents, parties and physical sequence are tested together.
Storage agreement and rights
Review the TSA or equivalent agreement: parties, term, capacity, permitted product, injection/withdrawal rights, duties and restrictions. A contract does not prove inventory.
Tank capacity and availability
Separate nominal capacity, contracted capacity, free space and actual inventory. Test whether volume and timing are physically plausible for the facility.
Tank or storage receipt
Authenticate issuer, reference number, dates and relationship to the storage agreement. An unverified scan may be irrelevant, expired or fabricated.
Access, inspection and operations
Understand nomination, inspector access, Q&Q, dip test, injection/transfer and operating windows. The sequence should match credible terminal practice.
Product and transport coherence
Storage should fit origin, specification, inbound/outbound mode, draft, pipeline/barge/vessel capacity and the contractual title-transfer sequence.
Evidence that should exist
- Operator identity verified through an official channel.
- Authenticable storage agreement or operator confirmation.
- Tank/capacity reference consistent with volume and period.
- Credible procedure for inspection, nomination, receipt and release.
- Clear linkage among product, tank user/contracting party and logistics chain.
Red flags requiring escalation
- Non-existent terminal, vague facility name or operator that does not recognise the transaction.
- TSA/TSR issued by an unrelated entity with no verified authority from the operator.
- Offered capacity inconsistent with the facility.
- Urgent tank-extension or code fees before authority/product verification.
- Refusal to permit verification through official operator channels.
Verification sequence
- Identify the legal terminal operator.
- Authenticate the storage agreement and references.
- Reconcile tank, capacity, volume, period and product.
- Validate inspection and movement procedures.
- Connect storage to authority, logistics and title transfer.
Decision output
Record what is confirmed, what remains unverified, the residual risk, the conditions precedent and one explicit decision state.
GO
Evidence supports proceeding.
CONDITIONAL GO
Proceed only after stated conditions are satisfied.
HOLD
Pause until material evidence is obtained.
NO-GO / STOP
Risk or missing evidence makes continuation indefensible.
Frequently asked questions
Does a tank receipt prove the seller owns the product?
No. It may evidence a storage relationship, but title, authority and the precise commodity linkage need separate verification.
Should the terminal be contacted directly?
Where feasible and material, verification through official operator channels materially reduces document-fabrication and impersonation risk.
Does tank capacity equal inventory?
No. Physical or contracted capacity does not prove the tank contains the offered volume or that it is free of prior commitments.
Continue the verification
Use this module together with the other Commodity Knowledge Centre controls and the MGS DD1/DD2/DD3 methodology. If a real transaction requires review, start with a preliminary assessment before committing to a full mandate.