ok, so if ye stand next to a barrel of fuel, and from a safe distance I shoot at the barrel... you will be totally safe yes?
I do wonder what form the oil was in that was on these tankers.
Was it ready to be put into airplanes as is, or did it need to be refined?
I'm sure that refineries were main targets for the luftwaffe.
Anyways, since ye don't have a phd in chemistry and work for shell oil, I have to doubt that a tanker wouldn't catch fire and/or explode when hit by a torpedo.