Company History

Founded in 1979, Warren Rogers Associates (WRA) specializes in statistical analyses and advanced system
diagnostics for the retail petroleum industry. The firm’s primary focus has been in optimizing wet-stock
management and fuel handling procedures

WRA  is recognized as a pioneer and leader in the area of fuel storage and management. We have been at the
vanguard in identifying tank systems at risk, in developing leak detection technologies for monitoring tanks and
associated lines, and in implementing Continual Reconciliation methods for precise wet-stock management. Among the
WRA accomplishments are:
  • Developing Tank Corrosion Survey, the first reliable means of predicting when steel tanks would fail.
  • Inventing SIRA (“Statistical Inventory Reconciliation Analysis”)
  • Inventing an Accepted Continual Reconciliation System for Precision Fuels Management
  • Multiple US, European, and Canadian Patents Awarded and Pending
  • Ongoing Involvement with Industry Associations, Regulatory Symposia, and Trade Associations.
WRA first became involved in storage tank issues when, working as consultants to the
American Petroleum Institute (API), the company developed the first reliable means of
predicting when steel tanks would fail. During the 1980’s WRA implemented its Tank Corrosion
Survey program for a number of Major Oil Companies that were developing comprehensive tank
replacement and upgrading programs. Consequently, WRA developed a substantial body of
knowledge about the performance of storage tank systems and leak detection methods. This
lead to Dr. Warren Rogers’ being interviewed on Sixty Minutes about the scope of the problems
associated with storage tanks as well as WRA’s being retained by the EPA to identify the
candidate population of tanks that would be affected by tank regulations that were then under
development.
 
Through the implementation of its Tank Corrosion Survey program, WRA had access to
information about the condition of tanks being pulled from the ground and the fuel inventory
records that were used for the purpose of leak detection prior to the exhumation of the tank
systems. WRA’s examination of these conventional inventory records revealed that there were
of number of distorting influences in inventory data that could either mask the appearance of a
leak or suggest that a leak was occuring when in fact none existed.
 
Through empirical analysis of field inventory data, WRA came to an undertsanding of the
various influences that were present in inventory data such as tank geometry effects, meter
drift influences, and delivery discrepancies that needed to be accounted for to accomplish leak
detection. Notably, each of these effects had a distinct signature in the inventory data that could
be identified and quantified.
 
Given this understanding, WRA invented Statistical Inventory Reconciliation Analysis (SIRA) as
a means of monitoring tanks and associated lines. WRA’s SIRA was certified in accordance
with EPA requirements and has been used by petroleum marketers for over twenty years to
provide UST leak detection compliance.
 
As dependable automatic tank gauges and communications began to be deployed to retail
petroleum sites, WRA undertook development of the PetroNetwork Continual Reconciliation
System for fuel management. The goal of this effort was to enable petroleum marketers
to track fuel with the same level of precision as they were able to achieve for store goods
using advanced Point of Sale systems and capable Back Office packages. This successful
development effort led to Certification of the System for monitoring complex active tank systems
up to 100,000 gallons in capacity and over 2.7 million gallons in monthly throughput. The
system provides profit protection by identifying dispenser positions that are loosing calibration,
delivery audits, dispenser flow rate calculations, identification of theft, and blend ratio errors.
 
WRA’s clients include Getty Refining and Marketing, Loves Travel Stops, Lukoil, Pilot Flying
J, Town Pump, Travel Centers of America / Petro Stopping Centers,and Wilco-Hess Travel
Centers as well as numerous convenience stores and retail petroleum operators.
Representatives of WRA have spoken before the American Satistical Association, the API
Storage Tank Conference, the National UST Conference, the Society of Independent Gasoline
Marketers of America, the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, the Petroleum
Equipment Institute, and and numerous local private and public groups. WRA has also been
cited by Sixty Minutes, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and several trade
publications. WRA representatives have also authored numerous articles and have been
retained as expert witnesses for litigation. The firm holds numerous US, EC, and Canadian
Patents. WRA is one of the Top Ten patent originators in Rhode Island and additional patents
are pending.
 
WRA’s technical and trade memberships include the American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM), the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI), the Society of Independent Gasoline
Marketers of America (SIGMA), the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO), and
the the Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards (PCATS).