How Petroleum Trade Really Works in Rotterdam: Facts, Risks, and Correct Procedures
Ovina prefers to trade in Rotterdam because the market allows faster execution and more efficient operations compared to many other regions. In particular, Rotterdam plays a central role in brokerage activities for Gasoil EN590 10 PPM and JET A1 Fuel. However, to understand this market correctly, it is essential to separate reality from illusion.
TSA and TSR: The Most Misused Documents in Rotterdam Trades
First of all, when a seller or intermediary requests a TSR (Tank Storage Receipt), the buyer must immediately ask a critical question:
Has the buyer already signed a valid agreement with a recognized tank farm?
In Rotterdam, every reputable refinery and tank operator requires a TSA (Tank Storage Agreement). However, real TSAs never circulate online. Large tank operators do not send TSA documents by email, WhatsApp, or PDF letterheads.
Therefore, if any company sends you a TSA document digitally, especially on a letterhead, you should assume with 99% certainty that the document is fake.
Similarly, intermediaries often misuse TSR to appear credible. In reality, TSR is not a document that can be freely issued or shared. A legitimate TSR only exists after payment and face-to-face confirmation with the tank company. Moreover, the tank company delivers it only to the authorized receiving party, never to random intermediaries.
For this reason, trusting TSR or TSA documents shared online exposes buyers to serious fraud risks.
Choosing the Right Tank Companies in Rotterdam
Your first priority must never be renting a tank from unverified companies outside Rotterdam. In practice, most of those companies are either inactive or completely fake.
Instead, you should work only with globally recognized tank operators such as:
Even then, approval is not automatic. These companies conduct strict compliance, audits, and background checks. Additionally, a legitimate tank farm typically signs minimum six-month contracts and requires at least one month of prepaid storage.
Once a tank company allocates capacity, documentation becomes secondary. At that point, the real risk lies in choosing unreliable sellers, not tank operators.
Origin and Product Reality Check
Across the market, hundreds of companies in Kazakhstan claim to own products without any storage, ownership, or operational capability. The same situation applies to many so-called Oman-origin products.
By contrast, Qatari products and certain other origins remain more reliable, provided that buyers perform proper verification. Still, even with trusted origins, buyers must follow strict controls.
How Petroleum Trade Should Actually Be Done
Petroleum trade must eliminate unnecessary intermediaries. When hundreds of brokers circulate the same product, the deal never closes. Everyone dreams of earning margins that exceed reality, and as a result, the product becomes unsellable.
In real trade, simplicity closes deals.
Step-by-Step Correct Petroleum Trading Procedure
Stage 1: ICPO (If Required)
If the seller requests it, the buyer may submit an ICPO. However, in most real trades, ICPO is not mandatory. Still, providing it does not create risk if the counterparty is legitimate.
Stage 2: Commercial Invoice
The seller issues a Commercial Invoice (CI). At this stage, complex procedures are unnecessary. However, if the seller adds procedures, you must immediately request the document described in Stage 3.
Stage 3: Proof of Product – Quality and Quantity (Q&Q)
At this point, the seller must provide Q&Q documentation, supported by SGS or an equivalent inspection company.
This document proves:
- The existence of the product
- The quality specifications
- The quantity available
If the seller cannot provide SGS-based Q&Q, there is no product. In that case, you must immediately cancel the transaction. Continuing only wastes time and exposes you to risk.
A seller who cannot provide SGS lacks competence, reputation, or operational capacity.
Stage 4: Tank Company Confirmation and Controlled Documentation
Within 24 hours after SGS issuance, the seller must introduce the buyer directly to the tank company where the product is stored.
At this stage:
- The seller authorizes buyer–tank communication
- Documents such as IPA and TTIA may be signed if required
- Tank companies coordinate directly with each other
Even if the product transfers between tanks, ownership does not change until payment. Only after payment do receipts get issued and ownership officially transfer.
Stage 5: Authorization to Sell and Collect (ATSC)
Payment authority may belong to:
- The asset owner, or
- A single authorized foreign trade company (ATSC)
However:
- ATSC is issued to only one company
- ATSC cannot be transferred
- Multiple ATSCs invalidate the transaction
This rule protects the deal from document abuse and uncontrolled brokerage.
Stage 6: Payment and Completion
After payment:
- Ownership transfers
- Brokers receive agreed fees
- The transaction closes
These rules apply only to legitimate trades between serious buyers and sellers. They do not apply to speculative deals driven by incompetent intermediaries.
Final Reality Check
In Rotterdam petroleum trade, documents do not sell products.
Only proof, access, verification, and payment discipline close deals.
Anyone hiding behind fake TSA, TSR, or unrealistic procedures should be eliminated immediately.
That is how real oil trade works.