Abstract:
Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals (CPSTL)
is responsible of distributing fuel throughout Sri Lanka. The
fuel is transported from main terminals to bulk depots and
subsequently to fuel stations using rail wagons and tank
lorries. The costs from the two modes are considerably
different and therefore, a need has arisen to optimize the fuel
distribution process in order to minimize transportation and
operational costs. The optimization has to happen in both the
main terminal to bulk depot transportation and subsequent
transportation to fuel station. Main terminal to bulk depot
transportation consists of finding the optimum usage of rail
and road modes and several researches had been done
covering optimizing this distribution process. This research
will introduce a model to optimize the distribution from bulk
depots to fuel stations by optimizing the service area of each
bulk depot.
