Removal & Decommissioning
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Britteco decommissions, cleans and removes fuel tanks for ports, marinas, farms and industrial sites in Southampton, Portsmouth, Basingstoke and Andover. Our crews travel from our Banbury base and arrange port passes and marina access before the day.
Few counties handle as much oil as Hampshire. The Fawley refinery on Southampton Water processes around a fifth of the UK’s refining output, and BP’s Hamble terminal is close by. Southampton is the UK’s busiest port for vehicles. Around these hubs sit hauliers, plant hire depots and workshops that each keep diesel, gas oil and waste oil on site.
On the coast, marinas along the Solent and the Hamble store marine diesel close to the water, and boatyards build up waste oil from engine work. Inland, Farnborough Airport and the business estates of Basingstoke and Eastleigh run standby generators and heating plant.
Rural Hampshire looks different again. In Test Valley 11.6% of homes heat with oil, against a county figure of 3.8%, and farms around Andover and Romsey keep red diesel and kerosene in bulk tanks. Many sit within reach of the Test, the Itchen or the Meon, which raises the stakes if a tank starts to weep.
Port, marina and farm jobs each have their own constraints, so planning comes first.
The work Hampshire sites ask for most, first.
Run out of heating oil or diesel in Hampshire?
24/7 emergency heating oil, kerosene and diesel delivery from 100 litres, including nights, weekends and bank holidays.
Most of Hampshire lies in the Environment Agency’s Solent and South Downs area. The north-east corner around Farnborough and Aldershot falls under the Thames area. The Test, Itchen and Meon are chalk streams fed by the Test Chalk and East Hampshire Chalk aquifers, and even a small oil leak can travel through chalk into the water that feeds them.
Coastal sites face a second risk. Tanks near the Solent and the Hamble see salt air that speeds up corrosion on steel tanks, fittings and pipework, so regular inspection matters. An ultrasonic thickness test shows how much steel is left before a weak spot turns into a leak.
Businesses holding over 201 litres of oil must meet the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001, including a bund of at least 110% capacity. GPP2 guidance covers siting and spill planning. We provide the waste paperwork and certificates on every job, and work as an OFTEC registered, ISO 9001:2015 and CHAS accredited contractor.
Coast, cities and countryside, from Solent marinas to Test Valley farms.
Yes, provided the port’s access and permit rules are met. We arrange passes and method statements in advance and use cold cutting, so no hot work permit is needed near fuel.
We isolate drains, use spill kits and keep pumping hoses within containment. Salt air also shortens the life of steel fittings, so we check pipework and valves while we are on site.
We pump it into a licensed tanker and take it for recovery or disposal. You receive a Consignment Note for hazardous waste, which is your proof that it was handled legally.
It is. The Test is a chalk stream fed by groundwater, so oil reaching the ground can end up in the river. A sound bund and regular inspection are the best protection.
If the land is being sold or built on, removal is usually preferred. If the tank sits under a building or slab, decommissioning with foam fill is safer and less disruptive.
Other areas bordering Hampshire.
Give us the tank size, fuel and location, from a Southampton yard to a Test Valley farm. We will set out the work, the paperwork and a date.
