Energy Industry Glossary

Weighted distribution metric — share of total channel sales-volume represented by stores carrying a given product. Used by suppliers to gauge product reach.

A price adjustment added to (or subtracted from) an index to produce the contract price (e.g., "OPIS Average − 50 points" or "OPIS Net + 3.5 ¢/gal"). Synonymous with *differential* in many contracts. Quoted in points or cents per gallon.

Branded-fuel ID system: the major injects a proprietary additive package at the rack with a chemical *tracer*. If unbranded fuel is suspected at a branded site, lab testing detects the missing tracer.

Process and tools (ID scanning, POS prompts) to confirm a customer meets legal age requirements for restricted items: tobacco, vape, alcohol, lottery. Modern POS systems can require an ID scan as a hard gate before completion.

An LLM-driven autonomous component with scoped tool access. The platform defines an *Energy Market Monitor* agent, *Analyst* and *Operations* agents in Agent Harbor, and *Triage* agents for exception handling.

Supply-restriction posture: when a refiner is short of product, contract holders get priority and unbranded-spot buyers are cut off first. Branded contract → unbranded contract → unbranded spot is the standard cutoff order.

Trade association for U.S. interstate-oil-pipeline companies. Frequent participant in FERC ratemaking proceedings.

See *American Petroleum Institute* under Federal Agencies (industry-trade-association role).

Industry trade association that compiles statistics on inventory, refining yield/capacity, imports, and production. *API estimates* of weekly stocks are released a day before *DOE/EIA* actual numbers and trade as a leading indicator. Note: distinct from *API gravity* (the density measure).

Measure of crude oil density relative to water on a scale calibrated in degrees API. Higher number = lighter compound. Calculated as:

See [§1](#1-industry-structure--geography).

The dominant refined-products trading, storage, and pricing hub of Northwest Europe. Not the U.S. equivalent of a rack — ARA is a *hub* where benchmarks are assessed; product moves inland from there at additional cost. See [§13 European Market Specifics](#13-european-market-specifics).

The dominant Northwest Europe trading, storage, and pricing hub. ~7.5 M m³ of Rotterdam-area tankage. Five Rotterdam-area refineries, plus Belgian. ARA is where Platts and Argus assess daily prices for barge and cargo lots. ARA is a *pricing reference* — it is NOT a delivered inland price.

Industry-standard NWE gasoline benchmark. Represents an ethanol-ready blendstock. Argus publishes intraday assessments (~4×/day for gasoline).

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (renewable diesel) assessment.

Finished-grade gasoline assessments for Northwest Europe.

Rapeseed Methyl Ester biodiesel assessment — European biodiesel reference.

Heaviest refinery product, used for paving and roofing.

Storage tank physically located above ground. Requires a pump (customer-owned or carrier-borne via *Pump Truck*) to receive fuel. Common at commercial yards, generators, agricultural sites.

International standards organization that publishes the technical specifications most U.S. fuel products are sold against. Key fuel specs: D 396 (fuel oils), D 975 (diesel), D 910 (aviation gasoline), D 1655 (jet fuel), D 1835 (LPG), D 4814 (motor gasoline), D 6751 (biodiesel).

Standards body publishing the technical specifications most U.S. fuel products are sold against. See [§5](#5-products--specifications) for spec citations (D 396, D 975, D 4814, D 6751, etc.).

Electronic device that monitors fuel level, volume, temperature, water bottoms, and high/low level alarms in a tank over time. Detects leaks. Vendors: Veeder-Root, INCON, Pedigree, SkyBitz, TitanCloud. Feeds the platform's `TankDetails` and IRT systems.

Background event-driven service that matches arriving supplier invoices to BOLs using configurable per-supplier tolerances; auto-approves within tolerance, escalates outside it.

Total inside sales ÷ number of inside transactions. Excludes fuel.

A supplier and contractor prequalification and supply-chain risk-management platform comparable to *ISNetworld*, used by buyers to verify the safety, insurance, and compliance credentials of carriers and vendors before awarding work.

Volatile hydrocarbon mixture for aviation reciprocating (piston) engines — distinct from jet fuel. Per ASTM D 910 and Military Spec MIL-G-5572.

Rack price discovery in terminal format.

The Arizona-specific reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending required for the Phoenix (Maricopa County) Cleaner Burning Gasoline market — a regional specification analogous to *CARBOB* in California. One of the family of regional sub-grades (*RBOB*, *CBOB*, *CARBOB*, AZRBOB) whose distinct specs fragment otherwise *fungible* gasoline supply.

Behind-the-counter merchandising area, typically used for tobacco, vape, and other restricted/high-shrink items. Often governed by manufacturer planogram contracts.

A forward curve where near-month prices are higher than later-month prices. Indicates a tight prompt market — buyers are willing to pay more for immediate supply.

Weekly Friday release. Drilling activity by basin; a leading indicator of future production.

Inland or coastal vessel for moving petroleum in bulk. Major waterways: Mississippi system (US), Rhine (Europe). Barge volumes are smaller than cargo lots but larger than truck loads.

42 U.S. gallons. Standard for crude and large-scale wholesale.

The mathematical relationship between two price layers: - *NYMEX-to-Spot basis:* `Spot Price − NYMEX Price` for a given product/region. - *Spot-to-Rack basis:* `Rack Price − Spot Price` for a given supplier/terminal/product. - The same word *basis* in *hedging* refers to the residual risk after a hedge — see [§8](#8-hedging--risk-management).

The residual difference between the commodity being hedged (e.g., wholesale rack diesel) and the hedge instrument (e.g., NYMEX HO). Small basis = effective hedge; large basis = high *basis risk*.

A defined group of suppliers whose average price serves as the contract benchmark. Smooths out single-supplier volatility.

Pipelines transport different products sequentially in the same line — a few hours of gasoline, then jet fuel, then diesel, etc. Each "slug" is a *batch*. Batch interfaces produce *transmix*.

Walk-in refrigerated display area for packaged beer. A standard c-store fixture.

A third-party-published price used as the cost basis in a buy/sell contract. The value comes from being independent and verifiable. Buyer and seller MUST use the same benchmark for the same effective time and format.

European wholesale pricing structure: `Inland Price = ARA Benchmark + Negotiated Differential + Inland Freight + Compliance Cost`. The differential, freight, and compliance components vary by terminal, supplier, and time — and are largely opaque, unlike U.S. OPIS rack postings.

Optimization service that, given a destination demand, evaluates all viable TSP triplets across freight, qualifications, allocations, and price to recommend the lowest delivered cost.

Sealed 5-gal cardboard-housed bag of beverage syrup connected via lines to the fountain for mixing and dispensing. The economic core of fountain margin.

FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) diesel substitute, made by reacting lipids with an alcohol. Per ASTM D 6751. Typically blended into ULSD. Common blends: B5, B10, B20, B100 (the number = % biodiesel).

Industry shorthand for organic matter (wood, plant matter, residues) used as energy feedstock. The biological precursor to crude oil over geologic time.

Records are versioned along two time axes: business effective time (when the fact was true in the world) and system audit time (when the fact was recorded). Required for correctly re-rating historical BOLs without disturbing already-exported data.

Receipt issued at the rack when fuel is loaded, documenting transfer of ownership. Records the supplier, terminal, product, gross/net volume, temperature, density, carrier (SCAC), and the consignee. Once the BOL is generated, the buyer owns the fuel.

State motor fuels specially formulated to help a region meet local air-quality requirements. Increases supply-chain complexity because the same physical terminal must manage multiple region-specific specs.

The CPG margin a retailer needs to cover fuel-related operating costs (especially credit-card *swipe fees*). When card fees rise faster than fuel CPG, this metric rises — meaning more retailers need higher margins just to break even on the forecourt.

The North Sea waterborne benchmark crude. Increasingly viewed as the global price indicator because it is easier to move in and out of European/global markets than Cushing-dependent WTI.

Differential between Brent and WTI crude. Historically ~$1/bbl, has blown out to as much as $20/bbl during periods of Cushing pipeline constraints. A Brent–WTI inversion (WTI > Brent) is rare and signals U.S. market tightness or export-economics shifts.

Per FERC: the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. The standard *energy-content* unit used to compare fuels across product types. Natural gas is sold in *MMBtu* (million BTU) or *Dth* (dekatherm = 10⁶ BTU = ~1 MMBtu). Equivalence references for U.S. retail fuels: gasoline ~115,000 BTU/gal; diesel ~129,000 BTU/gal; natural gas ~1,030 BTU/cf.

Wholesale sales of petroleum products in individual transactions exceeding the size of a truckload — typically barge, cargo, pipeline, or rail-car movements.

German Federal Cartel Office — enforces competition law and operates MTS-K.

Heavy fuel oils for marine applications. *IFO* = Intermediate Fuel Oil. *MGO* = Marine Gas Oil.

Small-format retail combining motor-fuel sales (the *forecourt*) with a curated *inside* offering of beverages, snacks, foodservice, tobacco, and convenience items. About 152,000+ U.S. c-stores; the most common U.S. fuel-retail format. C-stores sell roughly 80% of motor fuel purchased in the U.S.

U.S. regulations setting minimum fleet-average fuel economy for cars and light trucks sold by each automaker. Drives demand for lighter, more efficient vehicles — a long-run determinant of gasoline demand.

Rack and tanker flow measurement device whose readings are the legal volume of record on the BOL.

Series of call options that limit how high a buyer's price can go.

A market-based emissions policy that sets an overall cap on greenhouse-gas emissions and issues a limited number of tradable allowances; regulated entities must surrender allowances equal to their emissions and may buy or sell them. The mechanism underlying California's and other jurisdictions' carbon markets and a direct cost input to fuels sold into those markets.

A method of passing carbon-program compliance costs (cap-and-trade allowances or low-carbon-fuel credit obligations) through to buyers by assessing the cost as a separate per-gallon line item at the terminal rack rather than embedding it in the base product price. Lets suppliers recover allowance/credit costs transparently on each gallon lifted.

California's air-quality regulator. Sets the strictest fuel specifications in the U.S. (CaRFG, CARB ULSD).

California-specific ULSD spec — the cleanest-burning diesel in the U.S.

California-specific RBOB equivalent. Meets CARB summer/winter spec and blends with 10% ethanol.

Finished gasoline meeting California Air Resources Board specs — the cleanest-burning gasoline in the U.S.

Ocean-going petroleum vessel shipment. *Cargo lot* sizes are the basis for many international price assessments (e.g., Platts CIF NWE diesel cargoes).

Trucking company that moves fuel from rack to destination on behalf of the title owner. The carrier appears at the bottom of the BOL but does not own the fuel. Identified by *SCAC* code.

The physical checkout area where the *POS*, scanner, scale, payment terminal, and impulse-purchase displays are positioned. Distinct from the *POS* (which is the system) — the cashwrap is the zone. Often includes back-bar, cigarette display, and last-minute impulse SKUs.

Discipline of treating each merchandise category (packaged beverages, salty snacks, candy, beer, etc.) as a strategic business unit with its own assortment, pricing, promotion, and shelf strategy.

Finished gasoline spec used primarily in the Phoenix, AZ area.

Blendstock for non-RFG areas. Mostly EOR. Blended at the rack with 10% ethanol. *Sub-octane* gasoline (West Coast) is functionally similar.

A tradable permit to emit one metric ton of CO2-equivalent under California's *Cap-and-Trade* program, administered by *CARB*. Fuel suppliers incur a CCA cost tied to the carbon content of fuels sold in California, which flows through into the delivered price.

FERC-defined classification for non-public information whose release could compromise critical infrastructure security — pipeline routing detail, control-system architecture, vulnerability assessments. Subject to a separate FERC access-control regime. Relevant for the platform's *Governance & Security* layer when handling pipeline-routing or digital-twin asset data: anything granular enough to enable physical or cyber attack should be treated as CEII-class.

Industry shorthand for the salty-snacks, candy, and packaged-sweet-goods aisles at the heart of the c-store layout.

State low-carbon-fuel programs modeled on California's *LCFS* — notably Oregon's Clean Fuels Program and Washington's Clean Fuel Standard — that mandate reductions in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels and generate tradable credits. Distinct from California's program, which is branded LCFS rather than CFP.

U.S. regulator of futures and swap markets.

A sale term in which the buyer pays a unit price including the F.O.B. value at origin plus all transportation and insurance costs to the destination port. Buyer accepts the *loaded* quantity and quality (per Bill of Lading and Quality Report) — distinct from a "delivered" purchase, where the buyer pays based on the unloaded quantity. CIF is the common term for international cargoes (e.g., *Platts CIF NWE diesel cargoes*).

Taxed, on-road diesel.

CME's clearing platform for OTC swap and physically settled trades. Cleared swaps remove counterparty credit risk.

Temperature below which paraffin wax in diesel begins to crystallize, giving the fuel a cloudy appearance. Wax can clog fuel filters and injectors. Critical cold-weather operability metric for diesel and heating oil.

Natural gas (mostly methane, CH₄) compressed to <1% of standard atmospheric volume; stored at 200–248 bar (2,900–3,600 psi). Used as an alternative motor fuel. Cleaner-burning than gasoline/diesel but lower energy density per volume.

Refinery unit that converts heavy residual oil into lighter products and petroleum coke. Refineries with coking capacity can run heavier *sour* crude profitably.

The glass-door refrigerated section used for beverages — packaged soft drinks, water, energy drinks, beer, and sometimes dairy. Often referenced operationally by *door count* and *facings per door* (e.g., "the 12-door vault"). The cold vault drives a disproportionate share of inside-sales gross profit; out-of-stocks here are a top loss-of-sale driver.

Combination of a long call and short put (or vice versa) that creates a price band — protection above a ceiling, exposure below a floor. *Costless Collar* = strikes chosen so option premiums net to zero.

Largest U.S. refined-products pipeline; runs from PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) to PADD 1 (East Coast). Carries more than 3 million barrels/day of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Movements drive Gulf Coast spot supply and East Coast rack supply.

Selling unbranded (or another brand's) fuel under a major's flag — generally a contract violation. Can be detected via *additive tracer*.

Service-providing facilities and equipment of businesses, governments (federal/state/local), and organizations (religious, social, fraternal). Includes institutional living quarters. Energy uses: space heating, water heating, A/C, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, equipment.

When products are commingled in a transport pipeline, all the product meets the same spec; what matters is the energy value (or volume) returned, not the specific molecules. Distinct from *comingling* of branded vs. unbranded fuel at retail (a contract violation — see [§9](#9-retail--convenience-store-models)).

A pipeline that transports product for any qualified shipper under a published, non-discriminatory tariff. Per FERC and the *Interstate Commerce Act* (as extended to oil pipelines by the *Hepburn Act of 1906*), interstate oil pipelines must operate as common carriers — they cannot refuse service to any qualified *shipper* and must charge filed, "just and reasonable" rates. Most U.S. refined-product pipelines (Colonial, Explorer, Plantation) are common carriers under this regime. **Note:** the term *common carrier* also has a separate trucking-industry meaning — a trucking company that hauls fuel under a freight-services contract (see [§6](#6-counterparties--trade-channels)). Context determines which sense applies.

Internal tank section of a tanker. A typical 8,500-gal tanker has 4–6 compartments allowing it to carry multiple grades simultaneously.

Major refiners are listed under [§6 Counterparties & Trade Channels](#6-counterparties--trade-channels).

The party to which fuel is being delivered — typically the customer's site or storage tank. Distinguished from the *bill-to* customer in some setups.

Numeric identifier appearing on the BOL identifying the destination party. Mapped via `pricing_bol_normalized.ConsigneeNumber` to internal customer site IDs.

Payment term where the buyer pays the supplier *after* the goods are sold (typically by the buyer to its own customer). Used in some retail-station fuel arrangements.

A forward curve where later-month prices are higher than near-month — supply is comfortable and storage is being rewarded.

Broader market context: a service-based market landscape in which consumers expect to find and purchase products when, how, and where they want. Empowered by ecommerce and on-demand delivery; c-stores compete in this landscape on speed, location density, and 24/7 availability.

Additive cost lines tracked separately from the base price (taxes, freight, surcharges, premiums, additives). Effective-dated for historical accuracy.

Buyer pays a published cost basis (usually rack) plus a negotiated adder. Most U.S. retail diesel sold to fleets is on cost-plus. Settled through a fuel-card transaction processor with the formula built in.

Buyer gets whichever of the two formulas is cheaper at the moment of transaction.

Generic term for the other side of a trade — buyer or seller, depending on context.

The dimensions under which a contract applies — party, direction (buy/sell), product, origin terminal, delivery zone, customer site, supplier site, calendar, and effective dates. In the platform, modeled as `pricing_contract_coverages` tied to the parent contract.

Rule for choosing among multiple matching contracts: most-specific match wins; then newer version; then manual override. If none match → routed to *Exceptions*.

The standard unit for fuel margin and fuel-price differentials at the retail/wholesale layer. Industry-typical retail fuel gross margin is in the 20–35 CPG range; 2018 industry average was 23.35 CPG per NACS SOI; 2019 hit a record 25.82 CPG fuel pool margin.

The refining margin between crude oil and refined products. The standard *3-2-1 crack spread* models: 3 barrels of crude → 2 barrels of gasoline + 1 barrel of distillate. Computed in $/bbl. Negative crack spreads imply refiners are losing money on the unit and may cut runs.

Facility in which a feedstock (naphtha, LPG, ethane, propane, butane) is thermally cracked using steam in pyrolysis furnaces to produce lighter hydrocarbons. The *FCC* is the dominant catalytic cracker for gasoline production.

Platform event emitted when a scheduled ingestion service finishes a run — used to trigger downstream agent re-analysis.

All ingestion is automated background services — no manual loads. Price indexes refresh on schedule, BOLs sync continuously, master data syncs on interval.

A refinery's atmospheric distillation throughput, typically expressed in barrels per day (b/d). Aggregate U.S. capacity is about 18 million b/d.

The mix of crude oils a refinery processes. Refiners optimize the slate based on relative crude prices, refinery configuration (especially coking and cracking units), and product yield targets.

NACS-owned subscription database — the largest online repository of c-store financial and operating data. Powers the SOI Report and the broader benchmarking ecosystem. *Note: not to be confused with the CSX railroad.*

Currency code (USD, EUR) and Unit of Measure (gal, L, bbl, MT). All price records carry both explicitly.

Any buyer of fuel from the platform tenant. `pricing_companies.Role = "customer"`.

Standard time-of-day segmentation used for c-store sales analysis, staffing, promotions, and merchandising. Typical c-store dayparts: *Morning Rush* (5–10 AM, coffee/breakfast), *Late Morning* (10 AM–12 PM), *Lunch* (11 AM–2 PM), *Afternoon Snack* (2–5 PM, the highest-traffic c-store daypart in both U.S. and UK), *Dinner/Evening* (5–9 PM), *Late Night* (9 PM–5 AM). Foodservice menus, staffing, and TPRs are often *dayparted*.

Strategic practice of varying offerings, staffing, or promotions by daypart. A coffee promo at 7 AM, a sandwich bundle at noon, and a discounted slushie at 3 PM is dayparting in action.

Inventory that has not sold within a defined window — by c-store convention, items not selling for ~90 days are typically classified as deadstock. Triggers markdown, return-to-vendor, or write-off depending on supplier terms.

Aqueous urea solution: 32.5% high-purity urea + 67.5% deionized water. Injected into diesel exhaust to reduce NOₓ via *SCR*. Sold at retail and as a fuel-platform commodity.

Charge assessed by a carrier (or marine vessel/rail) for delays in loading or unloading beyond the carrier's control — i.e., charges for *wait time*. Material in marine cargoes and pipeline movements.

Mass per unit volume, used to convert volume↔mass. Required for international cross-unit pricing.

A product or category that customers visit a store specifically to buy. In c-stores, tobacco and lottery are classic destination products — customers come for them, then often add on adjacent purchases. Foodservice has become a destination category for top-quartile retailers.

German road diesel containing up to 7% biodiesel (FAME).

Cents-per-gallon adder/discount to the benchmark in a contract formula. Often varies by terminal even within the same contract.

General classification for petroleum fractions produced by conventional distillation. The EIA classifies in numbered grades: No. 1 (lightest), No. 2 (standard diesel/heating oil), No. 4 (heaviest distillate before residual). On-highway diesel, locomotive fuel, and agricultural-machinery fuel are typically No. 1 or No. 2 diesel. No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 fuel oils are used for space heating and electric power generation.

The primary refinery unit. Crude is heated and fed to the tower, where products boil off and are recovered at successively higher trays. Lighter products (gases, naphtha) come off the top; heavier products (residual fuel oil) come off the bottom — sometimes at temperatures above 1,000°F.

Federal cabinet department overseeing energy policy and research. The DOE publishes weekly industry inventory statistics (typically Wednesday mornings) — the *actual* levels that complement the *API estimates*. The *EIA* and *FERC* are part of DOE.

Created the Department of Energy, transferred oil-pipeline jurisdiction from ICC to FERC, and combined several pre-existing federal energy functions.

Refining of crude oil into finished products and the distribution of those products to end consumers. This is the platform's primary scope — refineries, terminals, racks, contracts, BOLs, retail.

Fuel theft in which a driver leaves the site without paying for dispensed fuel. Mitigated by *prepay*, cameras with license-plate recognition, and forecourt auto-shutoff controls.

Card assigned to each driver, used at the loading rack to identify which driver pulled product. Part of the rack access-control and audit trail.

Delivery of fuel at the destination tank, with associated paperwork.

Historic Russian-crude pipeline supplying the Schwedt refinery in eastern Germany. Redirected after the EU's 2023 Russian-crude embargo.

Distribution model in which suppliers deliver product directly to the store and often merchandise it on-shelf themselves. Common for snacks, packaged beverages, beer, bread, and many other tobacco products. The DSD rep visits on a regular cycle, restocks, and handles damages. Distinct from *wholesale-distributor* delivery (where the c-store buys via a single distributor like McLane or Core-Mark).

NACS-canonical category for store-level operating costs: wages, payroll taxes, healthcare, *swipe fees*, utilities, repairs/maintenance, supplies, franchise fees, property taxes. DSOE has outpaced inside gross profit dollars for several consecutive years — a structural challenge for c-store operators.

Real-time rack pricing ("Fast Racks"), market headlines, refinery outage tracking, spot/futures via *DTN QuotesOnline*. The platform consumes DTN eBOL files and DTN published rack prices.

Electronic bill-of-lading files arriving via DTN, ingested into the platform's transactional layer.

Wholesale sales of petroleum products priced on a *delivered* basis to a retail outlet — i.e., the supplier delivers the fuel into the retail station's tank and prices accordingly. A distinct pricing channel from rack sales (where the buyer takes title at the terminal). DTW prices include freight; rack prices do not.

2010 Dodd-Frank provision that capped debit-card interchange fees on banks with >$10B in assets. Set the current 24¢-per-transaction maximum (down from a typical 44¢ pre-cap, but higher than the Federal Reserve's initial 12¢ proposal). Subject of ongoing NACS-led litigation and lobbying.

Off-road or untaxed diesel marked with red dye to indicate federal motor-fuel-tax exemption. Used for farms, construction, marine, generators.

Ethanol-free gasoline. Specialty market (marine, small engines, classic cars).

Conventional gasoline + 10% ethanol. Standard finished product at most U.S. retail. Required in some states.

Gasoline + 15% ethanol. Approved for 2001+ vehicles, but adoption is partial.

Flex-fuel — 51–83% ethanol depending on season. Only usable in Flex Fuel vehicles. Counts as an *alternative fuel*.

Digital BOL feed delivered by terminal/dispatch systems. In NewTide, eBOL flows via DTN into `EBolDetailsStaging`, then into `pricing_bol_raw` and `pricing_bol_normalized`.

Card-based delivery of SNAP and other government nutrition benefits.

Standardized electronic format for business documents (invoices, purchase orders, advance shipping notices, scan-data feeds) exchanged between trading partners. In c-store, EDI is widely used between retailers and DSD/wholesale-distributor vendors for invoicing and inventory reconciliation. Underpins the platform's *NAXML* specifications (NAXML uses XML; older EDI flows use X12).

Records have a business effective period (`EffectiveFrom` / `EffectiveTo`) and a system audit period. Required for re-rating historical BOLs without disturbing later activity.

Statistical and analytical agency within DOE. Publishes the *Petroleum Marketing Monthly*, *Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR)*, *Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO)*, and many other primary downstream-fuel data products.

Legal authority to acquire (with compensation) private property for public-interest projects. Per FERC: natural-gas pipeline certificates and hydropower licenses issued by FERC convey the power of eminent domain — used as a last resort when a landowner and project proponent cannot agree on terms. The project proponent must still compensate the landowner for the use/purchase of property and any construction damages, with the level set by a court under state law. *Oil pipelines do NOT have federal eminent domain* and must rely on state law for siting — a meaningful asymmetry between oil and gas pipeline development.

EPA's database of record for RIN generation, transfer, retirement, and reporting.

Global standard for chip-based payment cards and terminals. Reduces counterfeit-card fraud at the point of sale. *EMV Outdoor* refers to chip-card readers integrated into forecourt dispensers — a major c-store capital-spending item.

A buyer that consumes the fuel itself — fleets, government agencies, large c-store operators, manufacturers, utilities.

Physical asset on the supply-chain graph (refinery, terminal, pipeline). With `energy_connections` graph edges.

Pre-computed 5-year rolling averages for seasonal-comparison overlays.

Individual data point: `series_id` + `Date` + `Value`. Standard time-series storage.

Time-series metadata — source, category, frequency, units. Hierarchical naming: `spot.wti.cushing`, `wpsr.stocks.gasoline.total`, `spread.crack_321.gulf`.

Industry shorthand for everything in PADDs 1–4 — markets connected via the Gulf-Coast-to-East pipeline system. Distinguished from *West Coast* which is logistically isolated.

Federal regulator of fuel specs, RFS, RIN system, and emissions standards.

RIN multiplier reflecting the energy content of the fuel relative to ethanol. Examples: ethanol = 1.0; biodiesel = 1.5; non-ester renewable diesel = 1.7. So 1,000 gallons of renewable diesel = 1,700 RIN-gallons.

Set of standards used by socially-conscious investors and rating agencies to evaluate a company's behavior — emissions footprint, biofuel/RIN performance, labor practices, board diversity, data-handling. Increasingly relevant to downstream fuel businesses given carbon-intensity regulations (LCFS, THG quota), Scope 1–3 reporting, and lender/insurer ESG screens. The platform's lineage and audit features support ESG reporting by providing source-level traceability of fuel-mix data.

Alternative ether oxygenate, more common in Europe.

Anhydrous ethyl alcohol blended into gasoline as an oxygenate. U.S. standard is corn-based; Brazil uses sugarcane.

Second EU Emissions Trading System covering road transport and buildings, launching 2027. Replaces national fixed-price systems (like nEHS) with a market-based EU-wide carbon price.

Contract that auto-renews at term end unless terminated. Modeled as `IsEvergreen: true` on the price pointer.

Electronic WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) benefits delivered via card similar to EBT. Requires POS certification, item-eligibility controls, and proper tendering procedures.

A BOL or transaction that cannot be fully priced or matched automatically — routed to a triage queue for human or agent review.

Refined-products pipeline from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest.

A sale term in which the buyer takes title at the point of loading and arranges (and pays for) onward transport. The reported F.O.B. price is the actual price at the producing port of loading — net of rebates and discounts, plus any applicable premiums — with no adjustment for credit terms.

The number of identical-SKU units presented frontage on a shelf or cooler door. More facings = better visibility and lower out-of-stock probability.

See [§10](#10-operations-documents--logistics).

An independent rack-price check computed from published rack prices used to validate the contract-derived price on a BOL. A material `FairValueDelta` triggers an FV CHECK PRICE warning for review.

Refinery unit that converts heavier fractions to lighter, higher-value products. FCC capacity is a key determinant of a refinery's gasoline yield.

Federal motor-fuel tax: 18.4 ¢/gal gasoline, 24.4 ¢/gal diesel (current as of writing — verify before quoting). LUST (Leaking Underground Storage Tank) tax adds 0.1 ¢.

1920 statute (originally Federal Water Power Act) governing FERC jurisdiction over interstate electricity transmission, wholesale rates, and non-federal hydroelectric projects. Outside the direct scope of downstream fuels but relevant when modeling cross-commodity (electricity vs gas vs oil) pricing.

Raw input to a conversion process. Crude oil is the feedstock for the refinery; naphtha, ethane, or propane can be feedstocks for downstream petrochemical or cracker units.

IRS-assigned tax ID. Used in supplier and customer master data.

Independent regulatory agency within the *Department of Energy*, successor to the Federal Power Commission. Per FERC's own scope and EIA's definition: jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, **oil pipeline rates**, and gas pipeline certification. FERC's authority over interstate oil pipelines comes from the *Interstate Commerce Act* (transferred from the ICC by the *DOE Organization Act of 1977*). FERC does NOT regulate retail fuel sales, oil/gas production, or refining.

Inventory practice in which products acquired first are sold first — critical for perishable foodservice items (sandwiches, dairy, bakery) and beverages with date codes. FIFO reduces spoilage and ensures customers receive the freshest product. The accounting-method *FIFO* (cost-basis order) is a related but distinct concept.

Any written application, complaint, declaration, petition, protest, answer, motion, brief, exception, rate schedule, or other submission to FERC.

The last leg of distribution — terminal to retail station, by tanker truck. Standard U.S. tanker is ~8,500 gallons; standard EU tanker is ~32,000 liters.

A FERC ruling that terminates an action, decides a litigated matter, operates on some right, or completely disposes of the subject matter.

Equity (not custody) transaction transferring ownership of crude oil with physical removal from the lease for the first time. Recorded on a *run ticket*. The reference cost point for U.S. domestic-crude price reporting.

California law requiring a franchisor to offer dealers the right to match a third-party purchase offer for their station before sale.

A pricing element that "floats" with a benchmark daily — opposed to a *fixed price*.

Optional minimum and maximum on a calculated price.

Strategic emphasis on coffee, hot food, and meal bundles to grow basket size *across dayparts*. The mature c-store playbook for moving beyond fuel-volume dependency. Foodservice's rising share of in-store gross profit is the result of sustained food-attachment investment by top-quartile operators.

Category covering prepared food, hot/cold/frozen dispensed beverages, and proprietary food programs. Now ~28.7% of in-store sales and ~39.6% of in-store gross profit dollars at U.S. c-stores (2024 SOI data). Subdivided into:

In-store foodservice prep and self-serve zones — coffee bars, fountain stations, hot food, grab-and-go, made-to-order kitchens. Foodservice supplied 39.6% of in-store gross profit dollars at U.S. c-stores in 2024 — now the dominant in-store profit driver for top-quartile retailers.

Specialized distributor for prepared-food, produce, and refrigerated/frozen items. Examples: Sysco, US Foods, PFG.

The outdoor portion of a c-store site — fuel dispensers (pumps), canopy, lighting, signage, drive lanes, EMV-enabled payment terminals, and underground storage tanks. The forecourt is the customer's first impression and the channel through which 30M+ Americans buy fuel daily. Treated as a distinct operational and revenue zone from the inside.

Hardware/software intermediary that manages communication between fuel dispensers, payment terminals, ATG systems, and the POS. Vendors include Gilbarco, Wayne, Bennett.

Operational and marketing discipline of converting fuel-only forecourt customers into inside buyers. Levers include *pump media* prompts, app-driven offers timed to dispenser authorization, loyalty-tied discounts redeemable inside, and store-visible signage during fueling. ~28% of c-store transactions are fuel-only — forecourt conversion is the primary growth strategy for that segment.

Self-serve cold-beverage dispenser system using *BIB* syrup, water, CO₂, and ice.

Shipment that takes up an entire truck. Stays on the same truck for the entire trip; no transfer en route.

Electronic payment instrument used by fleets at retail or unattended commercial pumps. Embeds cost-plus / retail-minus formulas via the card-transaction processor.

The path fuel takes from crude oil through refining, distribution, and retail to the end consumer. Generally: well → pipeline/tanker → refinery → pipeline/barge/rail → terminal (rack) → tanker truck → retail station → vehicle tank.

Gross profit on fuel sales, expressed in CPG. Calculation: `Retail Price − (Wholesale Cost + Federal Tax + State Tax + Freight + Card Fees)`. Compresses in volatile markets when wholesale moves faster than retail can re-price; expands when prices fall (retail "lag" works in the retailer's favor on the way down).

NACS SOI metric: total fuel gross profit dollars divided by total gallons sold. The headline industry fuel-economics number reported each year at the State of the Industry Summit.

A separately stated fee added by trucking carriers (or third parties) to cover fluctuating fuel cost. Calculated as a percentage of the base freight rate or as a per-mile/per-load amount, generally indexed to a published fuel price benchmark (DOE national average or similar). Settled monthly via a *Fuel Surcharge Index*.

The most data-complete NAXML transaction between carriers and distributors.

A product whose individual units are interchangeable. Most pipeline movements operate on a fungible basis — the customer doesn't get back exactly the same molecules they put in, just the same volume of equivalent product on spec.

Standardized exchange-traded contract to buy or sell a specified commodity at a future date and price. Standard NYMEX RB / HO contract = 1,000 bbls = 42,000 gal. Margin must be posted (e.g., $3,500 per contract historically for RB; varies with volatility).

Standardized exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell a commodity (or other asset) at a fixed price for delivery and payment at a specified later date. Standard NYMEX RB / HO contract = 1,000 bbls = 42,000 gal. Margin must be posted (e.g., $3,500 per contract historically for RB; varies with volatility). The platform's *Trade Console* deals with these positions.

U.S. gallon = 3.7854 liters. Standard retail and rack unit in the U.S.

A firm that operates a *gas plant* — a facility separating NGLs from natural gas (or fractionating NGLs into propane, butane, etc.). EIA lumps gas-plant-operator data into refiner categories.

Finished motor gasoline blended with ≤10% alcohol — generally ethanol, sometimes methanol. Gasohol with ≥2.7% oxygen sold inside EPA CO nonattainment areas is reported under *oxygenated gasoline*; otherwise reported as *conventional gasoline*.

Inter-product spread used to gauge refining-yield economics and seasonal balance.

Pipeline (typically small-diameter) that transports oil or natural gas from the wellhead to a processing facility or larger mainline pipeline. Gathering systems sit between production and the long-haul transmission grid; they are often subject to less federal regulation than mainline transmission pipelines.

Standard latitude-longitude location format. Stored on `pricing_locations.Geo` with a 2dsphere index for proximity queries.

Productivity metric: `Gross Margin Dollars ÷ Average Inventory Cost`. Used to allocate shelf space; low-GMROI items get fewer facings.

`(Revenue − COGS) ÷ Revenue`, expressed as percent. Standard retail-merchandising profitability metric.

Volume measured at actual temperature, NOT temperature-corrected. Most rack postings (including OPIS default) are in gross gallons.

Safety monitoring system at top- and bottom-loading terminals — provides overfill prevention, vehicle grounding (preventing static-discharge ignition), and vehicle identification before loading begins.

Same chemistry as diesel; used for residential and commercial heating, especially in PADD 1A New England.

Portion of physical exposure being hedged. 100% = full hedge; less = partial hedge.

A *hedger* trades to offset an underlying physical exposure. A *speculator* trades for profit on price movement, with no offsetting physical position. Position-limit and reporting rules differ. See [§3](#3-markets--price-discovery) for *Speculation* definition.

Using financial instruments to offset price-risk exposure in the physical position. Standard rule: gains in the paper account offset losses in the physical position, and vice versa.

ICA amendment that brought interstate oil pipelines under federal common-carrier regulation. The legal foundation for treating Colonial, Plantation, Explorer, and other interstate oil pipelines as common carriers today.

Drilling vertically to a "kickoff point" just above the target reservoir, then deviating around a curve to enter the reservoir near-horizontally. Combined with fracking, the foundation of unconventional production.

Well-stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by pressurized liquid, releasing oil/gas trapped in tight formations. Drove the U.S. shale boom that reshaped North American crude flows post-2010.

Competitive dynamic where chain retailers' aggressive pump pricing forces nearby c-stores to operate at or below margin to retain volume.

Original federal regulator of oil pipelines from the 1906 *Hepburn Act* until 1977, when oil-pipeline jurisdiction was transferred to the newly-created *FERC* by the *DOE Organization Act*. ICC was later abolished (1995) and replaced by the *Surface Transportation Board* for residual railroad/trucking jurisdiction. FERC continues to regulate oil pipelines under the *1977 version* of the Interstate Commerce Act.

Multi-state agreement simplifying fuel tax reporting for interstate motor carriers.

Pricing a rack transaction off a *spot* benchmark instead of a rack benchmark. Used by majors (ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP) and Super Jobbers (TransMontaigne, Truman Arnold, Mansfield) for "Spot-Plus" deals. Buyer pays a negotiated premium/discount to the spot price. In *backwardated* markets, spot-formula deals can be very attractive to buyers.

Facilities and equipment for producing, processing, or assembling goods. Includes manufacturing; agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting; mining (including oil/gas extraction); construction. Energy uses: process heat/cooling, machinery, plus facility heating/A/C/lighting; fossil fuels also serve as raw-material feedstocks.

Structured payload sent to an agent as a system-generated user message after a cron completes — includes data updates, fired rules, and an instruction to execute its analytical protocol.

The store-building portion of a c-store — the retail sales floor, foodservice prep, coolers, beer cave, backbar, restrooms, and back-of-house. *Inside sales* are NACS-canonical for non-fuel revenue.

All non-fuel revenue at a c-store — merchandise + foodservice. NACS reports this as a top-line industry KPI separate from fuel sales.

Productivity metric. Top-quartile NACS SOI retailers averaged $75/sq-ft inside sales in 2019 vs. $37/sq-ft for the bottom quartile — nearly 2× difference.

Number of distinct customer purchases involving an inside sale (versus fuel-only transactions).

Movement of natural gas, oil, or electricity between states. Subject to FERC jurisdiction under the ICA, NGA, or FPA as applicable.

An interchange of goods or commodities involving transportation between states. The constitutional basis for federal regulation of pipelines, electricity transmission, and wholesale energy commerce.

Originally enacted in 1887 to regulate railroads as common carriers. Extended to oil pipelines by the *Hepburn Act of 1906*. The 1977 version of the ICA continues to govern interstate oil-pipeline regulation under FERC. Establishes the *just-and-reasonable* rate standard, common-carrier obligations, the tariff-filing requirement, and the *suspended-rate* / *subject-to-refund* procedural framework.

A party that formally participates in a FERC proceeding by filing a request to intervene. Intervenors may file briefs, appear at hearings, and appeal Commission decisions in federal court.

Movement of natural gas, oil, or electricity that occurs entirely within a single state. NOT subject to FERC jurisdiction — regulated by state agencies (state Public Utility Commissions or equivalent).

A condition in which branded fuel prices fall below unbranded prices for the same product at the same terminal. Rare and economically backwards (the brand premium has flipped negative) — usually signals an unbranded-supply squeeze. Worth flagging as an alert in monitoring tools.

The global standard-setter for securities regulators. Its *Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies* (2012) define methodology, governance, and conflict-of-interest standards that *OPIS*, *Argus*, and *Platts* attest compliance with. IOSCO-aligned methodology is a core credibility and contract-eligibility criterion for any benchmark price referenced in a contract.

The platform's terminology for tank-monitoring telemetry feeding `TankDetails` and `ForecastingCompanyProfile`. See [§10](#10-operations-documents--logistics) for *ATG* device details.

A contractor and supplier prequalification platform (operated by ISN) used widely across energy and industrial supply chains to collect and verify safety records, insurance, training, and compliance documentation. Many fuel buyers require carriers and suppliers to hold an acceptable ISNetworld rating as a condition of doing business.

A wholesale fuel buyer that purchases rack barrels (and sometimes spot) and resells to retail or commercial customers. Falls into two categories:

The legal standard set by the *Interstate Commerce Act* (and similar standards in the Natural Gas Act and Federal Power Act) for FERC-regulated rates. Pipeline rates must be *just and reasonable* and not unduly discriminatory; shippers can challenge rates that fall outside this standard via protest or complaint.

Bottleneck point on the Middle Rhine. Low water levels at Kaub force barges to reduce cargo volumes, raising per-unit freight. The 2018 low-water event widened inland-truck distillate premiums from ~$0.20 to >$0.40/gal over ARA.

Light petroleum distillate used in space heaters, cook stoves, water heaters, and wick lamps. Per EIA: max 10% recovery at 400°F, final boiling point 572°F, min flash 100°F. Includes No. 1-K and No. 2-K (range or stove oil), with properties similar to No. 1 fuel oil.

Kerosene-based aviation turbine fuel — max 10% recovery at 400°F, max final boiling point 572°F. Meets ASTM D 1655 and Military Specs MIL-T-5624P (JP-5) and MIL-T-83133D (JP-8). Used for commercial and military turbojet/turboprop engines. *Jet A* is the standard U.S. commercial grade; *Jet A-1* is the international grade with a lower freeze point.

Per-barrel price of crude oil at the port of discharge. Includes purchase price plus transportation and insurance from origin to discharge port. Excludes import tariffs/fees, wharfage, demurrage. The standard reporting metric for crude-import economics.

California program (and Oregon, Washington equivalents) requiring fuel suppliers to reduce the carbon intensity of their fuel pool. Generates LCFS credits as a separate currency from RINs.

A specific diesel spec required only in Texas.

Tax-license identifiers required for tax-exempt transactions.

The act of loading fuel at the rack — also used as a noun: "today's lift was 8,000 gallons."

Persisted explanation of how a calculated value was derived — expression tree, inputs, intermediate values, version of each. Stored in `lineage_json` on every Price Engine evaluation.

Gulf Coast benchmark crude. Often trades at a premium to WTI because it has direct waterborne access.

Natural gas cooled to cryogenic temperature (FERC: −259°F at atmospheric pressure; equivalent to ~−162°C) and stored as a liquid. The volume reduction is approximately 1/600 of gas-phase volume. Used for long-distance gas transport (LNG tankers) and as a marine/heavy-truck alternative fuel. *Gasification* (regasification) is the inverse process — heating LNG back to gas phase for pipeline injection.

Carrier-facing document or message instructing the carrier to perform a specific lift and delivery. The FuelQuest FMS Common Carrier Integration uses *PCATS NAXML* XML schemas (`carrieroutbounddispatch.xsd`) for electronic dispatch.

Card used by the carrier at the rack to identify the *purchaser* (account) of fuel from the supplier. Distinct from the driver card.

The physical bay within a terminal where fuel is dispensed into a tanker or tank wagon. Equipped with metering, additive injection, and access-control systems.

Per FERC: any firm — other than a natural-gas pipeline — engaged in the transportation or local distribution of natural gas and its sale to customers that will consume the gas. The "last mile" of the natural-gas supply chain. Investor-owned utility LDCs are regulated by state PUCs, not FERC, on the retail side.

Selling fuel at or below cost to attract customers to the store. Standard hypermarket strategy.

Pricing formula that uses the average of the lowest 2 (or 3) supplier prices at a given rack on a given day. Buyers favor this in volatile markets.

Required only in Georgia, where EPA designated air quality as especially poor.

Rewards-card or app-based discount tied to enrolled customer behavior. Typical c-store programs offer per-gallon-off-fuel rewards earned from inside spend, and inside discounts earned from fuel volume.

Sold at racks separate from refined-product racks. Used for residential heating, agricultural drying, autogas. Per ASTM D 1835. *HD-5 propane* is the consumer/motor-fuel grade — paraffinic compound (C₃H₈), boils at −43.67°F.

Shipment that doesn't fill a truck — buyer pays only for the space used. May be combined with other loads. Less common in fuel than in general freight, but used for partial deliveries.

Promotional menu item or product offered for a fixed window — common in foodservice and beverages.

Legacy card-data encoding. Falling back to magstripe from EMV requires additional verification due to fraud risk.

Industry-shorthand for the large integrated oil companies — Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Phillips 66, Valero, Marathon, Citgo, Flint Hills, etc. They run refineries, post daily branded and unbranded rack prices, and operate global trading desks.

Integrated oil company that operates refineries (Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Phillips 66, Valero, Marathon, Citgo, etc.). Posts daily branded and unbranded rack prices.

Cash deposit required to hold a futures position. Refundable when the position is closed.

Daily revaluation of an open futures position at current settlement; gains/losses accrue daily to the margin account. The MTM report tracks the hedging portfolio.

Permanent price reduction on slow-moving inventory to clear it before spoilage or to make room for new product. Distinct from a TPR (which is temporary by design).

A structured end-of-day price-assessment methodology most associated with *Platts*, in which the assessor collects firm, actionable bids, offers, and transactions submitted during a defined window at the market close and uses them to set the published assessment. Designed to reflect repeatable, transparent closing value rather than a full-day average; submitted bids and offers are tested against the wider market for consistency.

German motorway truck-toll system. A material per-km cost element in inland freight.

Industry-typical operating ceiling = 90% of *Total Tankage*. Fills above this risk spills and can damage tank-monitoring equipment.

Standard international mass-based unit for refined products. Conversion depends on the product's density (e.g., ~7.45 bbl/MT for gasoline, ~7.20 bbl/MT for diesel — approximate).

Transportation and storage between production and refining — pipelines, marine vessels, rail, and storage terminals. Relevant to the platform mainly as supply-chain context (e.g., Colonial Pipeline disruption affecting *PADD 1* rack supply).

Industry-typical operating floor = 10% of *Total Tankage*. Levels below this stress pumps and can cause pump failure.

Third-party carrier fueling fleet vehicles directly from a transport fuel truck — typically at the customer's yard rather than at a retail station. Deliveries are smaller than full loads. Used by trucking, construction, and equipment-rental fleets. Relevant to platform if user has on-site fueling operations.

A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons (with or without small additive quantities) blended for use in spark-ignition engines. Per ASTM D-4814: boiling range 122–158°F (10% recovery) to 365–374°F (90% recovery). Includes *conventional*, *oxygenated*, and *reformulated* gasoline; excludes aviation gasoline. Note: blendstocks (RBOB, CBOB, oxygenates) are NOT counted as finished motor gasoline until blended.

Document itemizing the chemical constituents, fire and health hazards, and emergency response procedures for a given product. Required to accompany fuel in transport. *MSDS* was the U.S. legacy term; *SDS* is the GHS-aligned current term.

Major's recommended pump price; jobbers/dealers ultimately set their own.

Ether-based gasoline oxygenate. Blends up to 15.0% by volume meet ASTM D 4814. Was the dominant U.S. RFG oxygenate but largely phased out due to groundwater-contamination concerns; ethanol replaced it. Historic NYMEX gasoline contract `HU` (expired Dec 2006) was MTBE-spec.

Germany's Market Transparency Unit for Fuels, operated by the *Bundeskartellamt* (Federal Cartel Office). Since August 2013, all 14,500+ public fuel stations must report price changes for Super E5, Super E10, and Diesel in real time. Distributed to authorized consumer apps. As of 2024, stations changed prices ~18×/day.

Audit-style visit by a contracted third party posing as a customer to test compliance with age verification, customer service, cleanliness, and other operational standards.

International trade association for convenience and fuel retailing, founded 1961. Represents 2,100+ retail and 1,500+ supplier member companies across ~50 countries; ~70% of members operate 10 or fewer stores. Publishes the **State of the Industry (SOI) Report** (since 1972) — the canonical industry benchmark — plus the **Category Definitions & Numbering Guide** that standardizes c-store category structure across retailers, suppliers, and analytics providers. Operates the **CSX** subscription database powering SOI metrics. Hosts the annual NACS Show, the largest c-store industry trade event. Tagline: "The Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing."

Industry-standard taxonomy for c-store merchandise categories (Version 8.0 effective 2022, including E15, Renewable Diesel, RTD Coffee, RTD Cocktails, and Alcoholic Seltzer subcategories). Used by retailers, suppliers, analytics platforms (NielsenIQ, Circana/IRI, PDI), and the platform itself for consistent cross-company benchmarking.

Companion publication tracking c-store wages, turnover, and benefits.

NACS's flagship annual benchmark publication, published since 1972. Covers finance, store operations, merchandising, and fuel sales. Data is presented in *top-quartile vs. bottom-quartile* format ranked by store operating profit. Released each spring (full report) with preliminary figures unveiled at the spring SOI Summit. The authoritative source for industry-average fuel CPG, fuel pool margin, DSOE, inside sales per square foot, foodservice share, and similar c-store benchmarks.

A standardized master contract framework for wholesale energy transactions — most established in natural gas, with analogous use in other products. It supplies agreed general terms (credit, delivery, default, payment, force majeure) so counterparties negotiate only the transaction-specific economics, cutting legal friction in repeat wholesale dealing.

Generic term for a petroleum fraction with an approximate boiling range of 122–400°F. Used as a petrochemical feedstock and as a blending component for gasoline.

Heavy-naphtha-range fuel, ~52.8° API, 20–90% recovery between 290°F and 470°F. Per Military Spec MIL-T-5624L. Lower freeze point than Jet A; used primarily for military aircraft at high altitudes.

Federal statute granting FERC jurisdiction over interstate natural-gas pipelines and wholesale gas sales. Requires pipeline rates to be *just and reasonable* and not unduly discriminatory. Distinct from the ICA — different statute, similar rate standard.

Ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, natural gasoline. Mostly midstream — relevant to platform if user has propane operations.

Bidirectional PCATS NAXML XML messages exchanged with common carriers for dispatch and delivery confirmation.

Germany's national emissions trading system for transport and heating fuel. Introduced a fixed CO₂ price per liter, transitioning to market-based pricing under EU ETS II from 2027. The nEHS cost is a predictable, slowly moving per-liter input.

Volume corrected to a 60°F standard reference temperature using ASTM petroleum-measurement tables. Removes the effect of thermal expansion/contraction.

See [§11](#11-volume-measurement--units).

Branded suppliers offering a *1-10* term effectively offer a 1% prompt-payment discount. A *Gross* report shows the price BEFORE that discount; a *Net* report shows it AFTER. On a typical 8,000-gal load this can be a ~1.2 ¢/gal difference (~$96/load). Always confirm the publication's net/gross convention in the contract.

Total per-unit economic margin a supplier captures: revenue from all products generated from a barrel of crude minus all costs (crude acquisition, refining, transportation, marketing) to bring it to market. Used by integrated suppliers to compare upstream vs. downstream value. Distinct from the *crack spread*, which is a market-price-based proxy.

Light petroleum distillate usable as either diesel or fuel oil. - *No. 1 Diesel:* 90% recovery at 550°F. Meets ASTM D 975. Used in high-speed diesel engines under varying speed/load (e.g., city buses). - *No. 1 Fuel Oil:* 10% recovery at 400°F, 90% at 550°F. Meets ASTM D 396. Used in portable outdoor stoves and heaters.

Standard distillate. Usable as either diesel or fuel oil. - *No. 2 Diesel:* 90% recovery at 640°F. Meets ASTM D 975. Used in steady-state high-speed diesels (locomotives, trucks, automobiles). - *No. 2 Fuel Oil (Heating Oil):* 10% recovery at 400°F, 90% at 640°F. Meets ASTM D 396. Used in atomizing-burner residential and small-commercial heating.

Public notice issued by FERC for events such as Commission meetings, energy-project applications, rate cases, technical conferences, or proposed rulemakings. *Sunshine Notice* refers specifically to the Sunshine Act–required public meeting agenda.

Customer-loyalty metric based on the question "how likely are you to recommend us, 0–10?" Promoters (9–10) minus detractors (0–6) = NPS. Used as a leading indicator of repeat-visit behavior; foodservice speed is typically a top NPS driver in c-stores.

Crude pipeline from Wilhelmshaven serving northwestern German refineries.

The futures exchange where crude, gasoline, heating oil, propane, natural gas, and other commodities trade on a forward basis. Also called the *MERC* or *the print*. Now part of CME Group.

A refiner or importer of gasoline or diesel — required to surrender RINs to the EPA equal to its annual *RVO*.

A number indicating gasoline's antiknock performance in spark-ignition engines. Two laboratory test methods exist: *Research Method (RON)* and *Motor Method (MON)*. The U.S. consumer-pump number is the *antiknock index* `(R+M)/2`, the average of the two.

Aggregated commodity spot prices (16 commodities including WTI, Brent, RBOB, ULSD, natural gas, propane, ethanol). Consumed by the Energy Dashboard `SpotPriceService`.

Condition where an item is unavailable when a customer intends to buy. A critical metric tied to lost sales, customer dissatisfaction, and lower NPS. Often tracked by *daypart* (lunch OOS hurts most) and by category (cold vault OOS hurts most). *Safety stock* and replenishment frequency are the primary mitigations.

Intergovernmental organization founded at the Baghdad Conference in September 1960 to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of member countries. Current members include Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Venezuela, Nigeria, Angola, Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Coordinates production targets that materially affect global crude prices.

Expanded coordination group adding non-OPEC producers (most notably Russia) to OPEC for production coordination since 2016.

Natural-gas analogue of a common-carrier oil pipeline. Most interstate natural-gas transmission pipelines are open-access — they must provide transportation service (subject to capacity availability) to any customer who signs a contract. The pipeline operator does not own the gas it transports; it earns a regulated rate from the *shipper*.

Selling at or below the laid-in cost — sometimes done deliberately to drive store traffic (gasoline as a *loss leader* for c-store sales).

The end customer's calculated price based on a chosen OPIS variant plus the contract's adder/discount and any other terms.

RFG intended for sale in an oxygenated-fuels-program control area during a control period. Reported under *Reformulated Gasoline* in EIA data.

Right (not obligation) to buy or sell at a strike price. Used to cap downside (puts) or upside (calls) without fixing the price.

EIA category capturing direct sales to end users that aren't covered by the standard residential/commercial/industrial buckets — e.g., utilities, agriculture, sales other than through company outlets.

All non-cigarette tobacco — cigars, smokeless, vape, modern oral-nicotine pouches. OTP is the highest-margin tobacco subcategory and a key growth area for c-stores.

A rack/index price last published before a defined staleness threshold (typically 6 PM local terminal time the prior business day). Triggers a `CHECK PRICE` warning in the BOL Search grid.

Fuel sales at the forecourt. Inverse of inside sales.

A substance added to gasoline to increase its oxygen content. Common oxygenates: fuel ethanol, MTBE, ETBE, methanol.

Five geographic regions the U.S. is divided into for petroleum data collection and analysis, originally established for World War II fuel rationing. Still the canonical regional segmentation for EIA data.

Commercial (paid) cross-country retail price service for European station-level pricing.

Fuel payment completed at the dispenser without the customer entering the store. Convenient for customers but reduces in-store conversion (a key c-store profitability concern).

Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards NAXML — standards body for downstream electronic data exchange (dispatch, BOL, freight invoice). FuelQuest's dispatch format deviates slightly from base PCATS for Carrier Load Tender. Standard transactions include `Fuels Carrier Freight Invoice`, `Carrier Load Tender`, and `Outbound Dispatch`.

Sales of propane (or other NGLs) to a manufacturer of chemicals derived from petroleum or natural gas.

Petroleum-industry data-exchange standards body and the product-code namespace used in eBOL feeds. `EBOLProductMappings` cross-references PIDX codes to internal product IDs.

Long-haul transport of crude or refined product. Most refined-product racks are connected to a pipeline system. Pipelines charge shippers a *tariff* plus several itemized fees.

The process of tracking a customer's batch (or product cycle) through the pipeline. Once scheduled and physically transported, a *ticket* records product type, volume, origin, destination, and owner.

Diagram specifying the exact shelf, cooler, or backbar layout — which SKU goes where, with how many *facings*, in what order. Often vendor-supplied for category-management programs.

Refined-products pipeline that parallels Colonial through the Southeast U.S. Many terminals along the route can receive product from either pipeline, providing redundancy.

Standard distillate cargo benchmark for NW Europe.

U.S. federal law governing franchise relationships between branded suppliers and dealers — controls termination, non-renewal, and assignment.

Unit of price precision used in fuel-price formulas: 1 point = $0.0001 = 0.01 ¢/gal. Index adjustments are commonly quoted in points (e.g., "OPIS Average − 50 pts" = OPIS Average minus 0.5 ¢/gal). Pricing engine rounding precision is typically `0.001` or `0.0001`.

Hardware and software system that rings sales, processes tenders, manages promos, controls age verification, and integrates with forecourt fuel dispensers. Modern POS systems double as retail-management platforms covering inventory, customer management, and reporting.

Under the federal excise-tax system, the party that holds the inventory position in motor fuel at a *terminal* — the entity shown on the terminal operator's records as owning the fuel. The position holder is generally liable for the federal excise tax imposed when fuel is removed across the terminal rack ("removal at the rack"). Central to determining who remits fuel tax.

The publicly communicated wholesale rack price for a given supplier, terminal, product, and effective time. Posted prices generally change at 6:00 PM local time daily, Monday–Saturday, with intra-day or Sunday changes possible in volatile markets.

The street price displayed on the sign. Not the only price — fleet customers may be invoiced cost-plus, retail-minus, or rebated-via-card.

Minimum temperature at which a lubricant or distillate fuel still flows. Below pour point, the product is effectively semi-solid.

Entity engaged in buying and selling electricity in interstate trade. Power marketers take ownership of the electricity (unlike pure brokers) and must register with FERC. Outside the direct downstream-fuel scope but relevant for cross-commodity entities.

Bureau of Labor Statistics index used as the base for FERC's oil-pipeline indexed-rate methodology. The annual adjustment formula is `PPI-FG ± FERC-determined percentage`, with the percentage reviewed every five years.

Independent third-party publisher that surveys the market and publishes daily price assessments used as contract reference points. The major PRAs in fuel:

Retailer earnings before federal/state income tax. NACS reports industry pretax profit as a top-line KPI.

Customer pays for fuel before pumping (typically inside, sometimes via app). Loss-prevention measure that virtually eliminates *drive-offs*.

Which calendar day's index applies to a transaction — `SameDay`, `PriorDay`, or a `WeeklyAvg`. `PriorDay` is common because the day's lift happens before the new index is published.

A firm that produces, imports, or transports selected petroleum products across state boundaries and local marketing areas, then sells the product to local distributors, local retailers, or end users. The category EIA uses for *Petroleum Marketing Monthly* prime-supplier sales data.

Retailer-owned brands offering differentiation and higher gross margins, often as value or premium alternatives to national brands.

Two layers of product reference on a BOL: `ProductCode` is the supplier/eBOL raw code; `ProductRef` is the resolved internal reference after mapping.

Pipeline capacity-allocation mechanism used when shipper nominations exceed available capacity. Under traditional oil-pipeline tariffs, capacity is *prorated* — typically based on each shipper's historical volume share. Modern tariffs may include contract-shipper priority and other allocation logic. Important for any model that simulates pipeline supply constraints.

Federally required document that accompanies fuel through the chain. Must include: names/addresses of transferor and transferee, date, volume, and product identity. The BOL plus delivery tag generally serves as the PTD.

Charges levied by the carrier for pumping product into above-ground tanks (when using a pump truck or AST customer-owned pump).

Truck equipped with a pumping mechanism allowing fuel to be pumped *up into* an above-ground storage tank. Required for AST deliveries unless the customer has its own pump.

Connectivity between the forecourt fuel dispensers and the in-store POS system — for pump authorization, real-time price updates, transaction capture, and reporting. The technical foundation for *pay-at-pump*, real-time fuel reconciliation, and outdoor EMV.

Wholesale loading point at a terminal — physically, the rack a truck pulls under to load fuel via top-loading or bottom-loading arms. Used metonymically to mean the wholesale price posted at that terminal. About 400 racks in the U.S.; roughly 200 are pipeline-connected, the others are supplied by truck/barge from another rack.

Daily wholesale fuel prices posted by suppliers at each terminal location. The buyer takes title at the terminal flange and is responsible for taxes and freight to the destination. About 400 U.S. racks. See [§7 Contracts & Pricing Mechanisms](#7-contracts--pricing-mechanisms) for how rack prices are constructed.

Wholesale truckload-or-smaller sales of petroleum products where title transfers at a terminal. The defining transaction at the wholesale-rack price layer.

Volume is to be lifted evenly over the contract term (e.g., 1 truckload/day or 250,000 gal/month). Sellers offer better differentials on ratable terms because they smooth their own logistics.

Motor gasoline blendstock that meets RFG spec when blended with the specified oxygenate (typically 10% ethanol). Lower octane than the finished product. Settles on NYMEX as the `RB` contract.

Return of part of an original payment to the retailer from a vendor — typically tobacco-manufacturer rebates tied to volume, displays, or brand-mix. A material P&L line in tobacco-heavy chains.

UI pattern for matching carrier BOLs to supplier invoices in a four-pane layout — carrier BOLs (top), supplier invoices (bottom), BOL match viewer (middle-left), invoice match viewer (middle-right). Status colors: red/blue/yellow/green/purple/teal toggles for stages of match/approval.

The calendar month/year to which reported cost, price, and volume information relates — important for month-end accruals, reconciliation cycles, and EIA reporting.

Per EIA: products obtained from processing crude oil, lease condensate, natural gas, and other hydrocarbons. Includes unfinished oils, LPG, pentanes, aviation gasoline, motor gasoline, naphtha-type jet fuel, kerosene, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, petrochemical feedstocks, special naphthas, lubricants, waxes, petroleum coke, asphalt, road oil, still gas, and miscellaneous products.

A firm (or part of a firm) that refines products, blends and substantially changes products, refines liquid hydrocarbons from oil/gas-field gases, or recovers LPG incident to refining — and sells those products to resellers, retailers, reseller/retailers, or ultimate consumers. Includes any firm that owns the product and contracts another party to refine it. EIA includes *gas plant operators* in this category.

Plant that processes crude oil into finished products (gasoline, diesel, jet, kerosene, residual fuels, propane, LPG, asphalt, lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks). The U.S. has roughly 130 operable refineries; the largest cluster is on the Gulf Coast.

Once refined, product moves out via (a) pipeline to terminals across the country, (b) barge or cargo vessel on key waterways, or (c) rail.

Voluntary reduction in throughput when economics weaken (e.g., negative *crack spreads*) — distinct from turnarounds, which are maintenance-driven.

Money ordered by FERC to be returned to wholesale or retail customers after a determination that a rate increase was excessive or unjustified.

Hydrotreated vegetable oil — chemically identical to petroleum diesel, drop-in compatible. Distinct from biodiesel.

A party's pleading petitioning FERC to reconsider an order in a proceeding. Statutory deadlines apply — typically 30 days from the order.

A firm (other than a refiner) engaged in buying refined petroleum products and selling them to a purchaser who is *not* the ultimate consumer. Wholesale-only.

A firm (other than a refiner) doing both reseller and retailer business — selling to ultimate consumers AND to non-ultimate consumers.

Periodic re-execution of a planogram, typically tied to a *category review* cycle (e.g., quarterly, semi-annually). The labor and risk of resets is part of the rationale for *slotting fees*.

Living quarters for private households (excludes institutional living quarters). Energy uses: space heating, water heating, A/C, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, appliances.

Heavier oils (Nos. 5 and 6) that remain after the distillate fuel oils are distilled away. Per ASTM D 396, D 975 and Federal Spec VV-F-815C. - *No. 5 (Navy Special):* Medium-viscosity residual, used in steam-powered government vessels and inshore powerplants. Per MIL-F-859E (NATO F-770). - *No. 6 (Bunker C):* Heaviest commercial fuel oil. Used for electric power generation, space heating, marine bunkering, and industrial purposes.

`Pump Price − (Rack Price + Federal Tax + State Tax + Freight + Markup)`. The cents-per-gallon a retailer keeps after covering laid-in cost. See *Fuel Margin* and *Fuel Pool Margin* below for the NACS-canonical KPI versions.

Pump prices at *c-stores*, *truckstops*, and *hypermarketers*. Retail reacts to rack changes with a lag of hours to days because of inventory turnover and competitive dynamics. Roughly 152,000 branded and unbranded fueling stations in the U.S.

Any company-owned outlet (e.g., service station) selling gasoline, on-highway diesel, or propane for on-highway vehicle use, under the direct control of the firm reporting EIA-782 — by virtue of the firm's ability to set retail prices and collect retail margin. Includes outlets operated by company employees and outlets staffed by contracted personnel.

Buyer pays the prevailing retail price MINUS a negotiated rate. Common for fleet card programs at truckstops.

A firm (other than a refiner, reseller, or reseller/retailer) that buys refined petroleum products and sells them to ultimate consumers.

Federal program (originated in EPAct 2005, expanded by EISA 2007) requiring obligated parties to blend statutory volumes of renewable fuel into transportation fuel each year. Administered by the EPA. Volumes are split across four nested categories: Total Renewable Fuel ⊃ Advanced Biofuel ⊃ Cellulosic Biofuel + Biomass-Based Diesel.

Primary inland-waterway transport for refined products from ARA into western/southwestern Germany. Carries product upriver to tank farms along the Rhine, Main, and Neckar.

A 38-character credit assigned to each gallon of renewable fuel produced or imported, used to track RFS compliance. Each batch of biofuel generates RINs in the *EPA Moderated Transaction System (EMTS)*. RINs are *attached* to a physical gallon, then *separated* by the blender or obligated party and may be sold or retired for compliance. RINs are valid for the year generated and the following year.

Categorize RINs by fuel type: - *D3* — Cellulosic biofuel - *D4* — Biomass-based diesel - *D5* — Advanced biofuel - *D6* — Renewable fuel (typically corn ethanol) - *D7* — Cellulosic diesel

A POS transaction that does not result in a sale — cancels, refunds, voids, manual price overrides. High-risk for theft because they offer cover for unauthorized cash removal.

Biodiesel produced from rapeseed (canola) oil. Standard in Europe.

525 km German product pipeline running from the Dutch border near Venlo to the Frankfurt/Ludwigshafen area. Connects multiple tank farms and refineries.

An obligated party's annual RFS compliance requirement, calculated as `Total Gasoline + Diesel Sales × EPA Annual % Standards` across the four categories.

Measure of gasoline volatility, expressed in psi (e.g., 7.8 or 9.0 psi). Lower RVP = less evaporation, lower smog formation. Required summer-spec RVP varies by region; California requires lower year-round.

Buffer inventory held above forecast demand to protect against demand and lead-time variability. Reduces OOS risk while balancing carrying costs and spoilage.

Transfer of title of an energy commodity from seller to buyer for a price or quantity. Excludes intra-firm transfers, products consumed directly by the reporting firm, or sales of bonded fuel. Excludes exchange-loan transfers unless the differential is invoiced.

Sales of refined products to non-ultimate-consumer purchasers — i.e., wholesale sales.

Sales made directly to the consumer of the product. Includes bulk consumers (agriculture, industry, utilities) as well as residential and commercial consumers.

EIA categorization of whether a transaction is *sales for resale* or *sales to end users*.

Year-over-year sales comparison limited to stores open in both periods. Removes new-build and divestiture noise.

Replenishment and ownership model in which the supplier *retains ownership* of product on the retailer's shelf until it is scanned at checkout. The retailer pays the supplier only for what sells, reducing retailer inventory carrying cost and shrink risk. Common for magazines, fresh pastries, some DSD bakery products. Reconciliation depends on accurate *scan data* exchange between retailer and supplier.

See [§6](#6-counterparties--trade-channels).

2- to 4-letter unique identifier for transportation companies, assigned by NMFTA. Required on BOLs and freight documentation.

POS-recorded purchase data — SKU, quantity, price, daypart, store, payment type. Foundational input to category management, demand forecasting, *SBT* reconciliation, and tobacco-manufacturer rebate programs (which often pay rebates per scanned unit).

Persisted historical metrics computed on every evaluation — used for retrospective reporting on contract performance, exception rates, mapping coverage.

Active emissions-control technology that injects DEF into the exhaust stream of a diesel engine. The DEF reacts over a catalyst, converting NOₓ into nitrogen, water, and trace CO₂. Standard on modern on-road diesels.

Customer-operated checkout stations that reduce wait times and labor cost. Require additional controls for age-restricted items (tobacco, alcohol, lottery), loss prevention (every void or override is a *risk event*), and EBT/eWIC certification. Adoption has accelerated in c-stores since the COVID era.

Order in which a tanker delivers compartments at multi-station stops.

The customer of a regulated pipeline who has nominated capacity and pays the filed rate to move product. In oil-pipeline parlance, *shippers* are the entities holding the right to inject and lift product. The platform's contract counterparties acting as buyers of pipeline transportation are shippers under FERC rules.

Inventory loss from theft, damage, spoilage, or paperwork errors. Average c-store merchandise shrink runs ~$2,000/store/month per recent NACS reporting. Tracked as a percentage of sales.

Generic platform-level terms for an individual retail location. The platform models each as an entity with geo-coordinates, fuel grades available, ATG telemetry, and a competitive-set membership.

Unique identifier for each distinct product variant (size, flavor, pack count). C-store inventories typically run 3,000–5,000 SKUs.

Process of pruning the assortment by removing low-velocity, low-GMROI items to make room for higher performers.

Payment from a supplier to a retailer in exchange for shelf or cooler space, especially for new product introductions. Offsets the retailer's reset labor and the risk of carrying an unproven SKU.

Biodiesel produced from soybean oil. Most common U.S. feedstock.

Federal food-assistance program, formerly "food stamps." Eligible items vary by state and product category.

When during the day the index price is sampled — `Close`, `Morning`, `Evening`, or `Intraday`. Must be specified in the contract because OPIS publishes multiple daily benchmarks.

Compact inline mini-chart array on dashboard cards showing recent trend.

Buying or selling an asset with the goal of profiting from price movement, without an underlying physical exposure to offset. Distinguished from *hedging* — speculators take risk; hedgers transfer it.

Engineered barriers, drainage systems, and procedures that contain fuel spills rather than letting them be absorbed by ground or surface water. Required at terminals, retail stations (under-tank double-walling), and on transports.

Blending product (e.g., ethanol, biodiesel, additive) into a tanker truck on the fly at the rack rather than pre-blended at the supplier.

6- or 9-digit numeric code identifying physical locations for transportation purposes (rail/truck origins and destinations). Maintained by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association.

A delivery where the carrier delivers to multiple destinations from a single load. Common in route-density operations.

A load where the carrier picks up from separate supplier terminals to make a single delivery — e.g., diesel from one terminal and gasoline from another nearby terminal.

The market for physical, *wet barrel* product traded in bulk lots larger than truck loads. Also called the *cash* or *physical* market. Spot prices react instantaneously to *NYMEX* moves — this relationship is *basis*. Spot prices in turn drive *rack* prices.

The current price in the marketplace at which a commodity can be bought or sold for immediate delivery. In fuel context, distinguished from posted *rack* prices by being a true negotiated transaction price for bulk lots.

EIA weekly report of the U.S. emergency crude stockpile level.

Discretionary EPA waiver from RFS obligations granted to small refiners on hardship grounds. Affects RVO allocation.

OPIS-published metric that estimates the delivered cost of buying spot product into a destination market. Often differs from the rack average — SRI captures spot economics, rack avg reflects posted supplier prices.

- *Standard Format (OPIS default):* If a supplier has multiple postings in one city across different terminals, the lowest price is used to represent that market. - *Terminal Format (DTN, Axxis):* All terminals show as separate rows. Use this when contracts specify a particular terminal.

Per-state excise tax on motor fuel; varies widely. Tracked separately from federal in tax-calculation modules.

EIA monthly energy demand/supply/price forecast.

Crude oil produced in a particular field — or a collection of crudes with similar qualities from fields in close proximity — that the industry describes with a specific name (e.g., WTI, LLS, Bonny Light, Maya).

A rate allowed to take effect pending FERC determination. If FERC ultimately finds the rate unjust or unreasonable, the pipeline owes refunds (with interest) to shippers from the date the rate took effect.

Per EIA: *low-sulfur* ≤ 1% S; *high-sulfur* > 1% S. Lower-sulfur residual generally trades at a premium.

German gasoline grades with 5% / 10% ethanol respectively.

Large, sophisticated jobbers operating like mini oil companies (TransMontaigne, Truman Arnold, Mansfield Energy). They have supply, trading, and marketing arms; offer Spot-Plus and index-based deals.

Any seller of fuel — usually a major or another jobber. In the platform, `pricing_companies.Role = "supplier"`.

Supplier invoice feeds reconciled against carrier BOLs in the Reconciliation Workbench.

Formal agreement between a fuel buyer and seller specifying product, terminal, volume, price formula, term, and delivery method.

A new rate that has been accepted for review by FERC but not made effective for a period of up to five months while review proceeds.

Bilateral derivative where two parties exchange a floating price for a fixed price over a series of settlement dates. Often cleared via *ClearPort* (NYMEX/CME). A jobber can swap floating rack ULSD for fixed price to lock in costs.

*Sweet* crude has low sulfur content (<0.5%) and is easier to refine. *Sour* crude has higher sulfur and requires more processing. Examples: WTI is sweet; Mexican Maya is sour.

Per-transaction fee charged by card networks for processing a payment. A major c-store cost — for many retailers, swipe fees are the second-largest operating expense after labor. Drives the *break-even fuel pool margin* metric.

U.S. federal law (2019) raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21. Requires procedural and POS controls.

753 km pipeline from the Trieste, Italy marine terminal to Bavarian inland refineries (Bayernoil, Gunvor Ingolstadt).

Measure of crude oil acidity (mg KOH per g). High-TAN crudes are corrosive and require special metallurgy in the refinery.

A cluster of bulk storage tanks at a terminal or refinery.

Legally defined at 90%+ of total tankage; *actual* overfill (with serious risk) at ≥95%. Triggers regulatory and insurance consequences.

Smaller transport truck (<6,000 gallons capacity) for delivery to sites with smaller or hard-to-access tanks. Common for rural commercial accounts and home heating-oil delivery.

Large transport truck (>6,000 gallons capacity) used for fuel delivery from terminal to destination. Standard U.S. tanker tractor-trailer rig is 7,500–9,500 gal across 4–6 compartments.

Free German API providing access to MTS-K data for non-commercial operators. Used by JET / Rising Tide for retail competitive intelligence in Germany.

The compilation of all effective rate schedules for a particular regulated company or pipeline — the formal *filed document* on file with FERC, including general terms and conditions plus each form of service agreement. Distinct from the colloquial use of "tariff" meaning a per-bbl/per-unit rate (see *Tariff Rate* in [§2](#2-the-fuel-supply-chain)). When industry people say "the pipeline filed a new tariff," they mean an updated FERC tariff document.

Off-road, agricultural, government, export, and reseller use cases exempt from some fuel taxes. Tracked per-customer on the contract or invoice.

Industry-standard 9-character terminal identifier assigned by IRS Form 637 / ExStars terminal-tracking system. Used on BOLs and tax filings to uniquely identify terminals.

Adjusting volume to 60°F. Same physical mass of fuel occupies more volume at higher temperature; warmer climates therefore typically transact in *net* gallons (so the buyer doesn't pay for heat-induced expansion). Colder climates often use *gross*.

Multi-tenant separation: every collection includes `CompanyId`, every API call carries a JWT with `CompanyId` claim, every query filters on it. No tenant ever sees another tenant's data.

Bulk storage and distribution facility where refined product arrives (by pipeline, barge, or rail) and from which trucks load for final delivery. Also commonly called a *rack* in the U.S. context. About 400 active rack locations exist across the U.S.

Per-terminal product code used on supplier postings and BOLs. Effective-dated mappings live in `TerminalItemCodeMappings`.

Payment terms shorthand — `1-10` = 1% discount if paid in 10 days, full balance otherwise (`net-30` implicit). `N-10` = net 10 (no discount, due in 10 days). `N-7` = net 7. Suppliers offering 1-10 are the ones that may show different gross vs. net prices.

German GHG-emissions-reduction quota requirement on fuel suppliers — analogous to U.S. RFS but enforced as a CO₂-reduction obligation rather than volumetric. Compliance cost varies by supplier and product, resets annually each January, and fluctuates with quota-certificate market prices.

Standard jobber/end-user agreement classification: - *Branded Contract:* Supply guarantee. Cost basis is the branded supplier price (or supplier average). - *Unbranded Contract:* Supply guarantee. Cost basis is the unbranded supplier price (or average). - *Unbranded Spot:* No supply guarantee. Cost basis can be any agreed published benchmark.

Ownership of fuel. Transfers at the rack flange when the BOL is generated. If the buyer is redistributing, title passes to the next buyer when fuel is dropped into their tank.

Function-calling interface exposed to an agent. Phase 0 defines the contracts; later phases connect orchestration. Pattern: `Core/Services/*/Tools/`.

Method by which a tanker truck receives fuel at the rack. Bottom-loading is faster and safer (closed system, vapor recovery); most modern racks use it.

NACS SOI methodology: industry data is presented in performance quartiles ranked by store operating profit. The top 25% of operators are the *top quartile*; the bottom 25%, the *bottom quartile*. The gap between quartiles (often 2× or more on inside-sales-per-square-foot) is the headline benchmarking insight of each annual report.

The actual full-capacity size of a tank.

Short-term shelf-tag discount to drive trial or movement. Often vendor-funded. Tagged at the shelf and tracked for sales lift and margin impact.

The geographic region from which a c-store draws most of its customers — typically modeled by drive time, traffic patterns, and demographics. Foundation for the platform's *competitive set* computation.

A trade mechanism — and the prices derived from it — allowing a transaction to be executed at a price equal to that day's official exchange settlement (e.g., the *NYMEX*/CME settlement), optionally with a small agreed differential. Lets a participant lock in the settlement reference before its exact value is known. Commonly used as an anchor in spot and basis pricing.

The mixture of refined products that forms at the interfaces between batches in a pipeline (typically gasoline + diesel + jet fuel). Routed to *transmix processing plants* that re-distill and re-treat the mix back into usable gasoline and diesel. A small but persistent operational input flow.

The reason a customer visits a c-store on a given trip — fuel only, snack-and-go, lunch destination, beer run, lottery purchase, etc. Modern data-driven c-stores segment customer behavior by trip mission to design *daypart*-specific offers and bundles.

What share of fuel customers also buy inside. ~28% of c-store transactions are fuel-only; converting fuel-only customers to inside-buyers is a primary growth lever.

Standard U.S. tanker = ~8,500 gal (varies by axle config, 7,500–9,500). Standard EU tanker = ~32,000 L (~8,500 gal).

The atomic unit of supply-side configuration — which supplier offers which product at which terminal. Modeled as `toe_ed_terminal_supply_options`.

See [§10](#10-operations-documents--logistics).

Periodic refinery shutdown for inspection and major maintenance. Originally limited to scheduled work but now includes any planned or unplanned shutdown, slowdown, or operational interruption. Spring/fall turnaround season concentrates capacity outages and tightens product supply.

An IRS-recognized transaction in which fuel held by one *position holder* (the delivering party) at a terminal is transferred to another registered party (the receiving party) before or at the rack, shifting the tax liability and reporting obligation to the receiving party. Lets a company lift product from a terminal where it holds no supply position by drawing on a partner's inventory — common in branded/unbranded supply optimization.

The unfilled space in a tank. Many operators exclude the top 10% from working capacity, defining ullage as the space between current level and the *Maximum Fuel Level*.

Total revenue from sales during the reference month divided by total volume sold — also called the *weighted average price*. Excludes taxes; includes transportation costs that were paid as part of the purchase price.

Crude oil exploration, drilling, and production. Outside the direct scope of the downstream platform but provides input to the *crude slate* a refinery processes.

Storage tank located below ground. Fuel can be dropped into a UST by gravity from a tanker without a pump. Standard at retail fueling stations. Subject to EPA leak-detection and corrosion-protection regulations.

Process of capturing gasoline vapors at c-store filling stations during refueling so they don't escape into the atmosphere. Often legally required to reduce noxious and explosive emissions. *Stage I* recovers vapors during tanker drops at the underground tank; *Stage II* recovers vapors at the dispenser nozzle during customer fueling.

A contractor safety-qualification and compliance-management platform (which consolidated PEC and other networks) used to screen and monitor carriers and service providers in the fuel and energy supply chain. One of the major prequalification networks alongside *ISNetworld* and *Avetta*.

Branded contracts typically commit the jobber to ±10% of the nominal annual volume, balancing the major's supply planning against the jobber's demand uncertainty.

An average price in which each deal is weighted by its volume, so larger transactions move the number more than small ones. It is the standard basis for many rack and spot assessments (e.g., *Argus* publishes volume-weighted averages), producing a more representative price than a simple arithmetic mean.

Weighted average cost of inventory on a buy-side basis. Used to reconcile booked inventory cost vs. actual lift cost.

The point at which crude (and/or natural gas) exits the ground. Per FERC, *wellhead* refers specifically to the control equipment placed at the top of the well casing. By historical precedent, U.S. crude-oil production volume and price data are labeled "wellhead" even though they are now generally measured at the lease boundary. Used as the generic reference point for production-site economics.

The price of natural gas (or crude) at the wellhead — by FERC's definition, *excluding* any charges for treating, gathering, processing, transporting, or distributing. The base economic input before any midstream value chain begins.

Physical barrels of fuel that actually change hands. The term contrasts with *paper barrels* — futures contracts on the *NYMEX* that almost never go to physical delivery.

Software and discipline for staffing-schedule optimization tied to forecasted store traffic by *daypart*. Modern WFM systems pull from POS sales history, weather, local events, and labor rules to generate daily schedules. WFM compliance reduces overtime variance and OOS-during-rush risk.

Firm that sells a broad multi-vendor assortment to c-stores via a single ordering and delivery relationship. Examples: McLane, Core-Mark (now Performance Food Group), H.T. Hackney.

EIA weekly release, Wednesdays 10:30 AM ET. U.S. crude and products stocks, refinery utilization, imports/exports.

The North American benchmark crude, settled at Cushing, Oklahoma. Sweet, light. Cushing's landlocked geography historically caused supply gluts, depressing WTI relative to Brent.

Comparison of a metric in the current period vs. the same period one year earlier. The standard period-comparison frame for c-store and fuel sales reporting; insulates against seasonal effects. *YOY comps* typically exclude remodel-closure stores.

End-of-day POS summary report used for cash and sales reconciliation. Resets daily totals after printing — historically a paper "tape" from the cash register, now typically a digital report. Z-tape totals must reconcile to POS reports and bank deposits; variances are flagged for investigation.

Differentiated pump pricing across geographic zones to optimize fuel margin given local competition, price elasticity, and competitive-set dynamics. Standard practice for multi-site operators; central to the platform's Retail Price Optimization Module.