What is technically destructible on maps?

I am sort of a TBS purist in that once I start my campaign I like to just keep playing, no matter how badly things go.

That being said, I like to know the ROE going into combat. I'll be using CE Edition with FITH active.

I noticed on some of the maps there appear to be gas/petroleum/oil tanks (can't tell exactly what they are holding). If I shoot at them, or if one of my soldiers is standing next to one if it gets hit, will they explode and cause damage to nearby tiles? Will alien AI try to shoot these or destruct environments around my soldiers to kill me? Or do they just aim directly at humans?

I am just asking because I can see this as a strategy, if there is an alien next to a gas tank and I can just throw a frag or something. Also, if it is going to explode, does it happen in real time, or is there a delay like with the frag grenades?

Any other tips anyone has about using the map environments would be awesome. I have been playing XCOM EU for a long time so this game is still very new to me.

Thank you in advance.

Yes you can use that tanks and cars to explode. Big tanks can destroy the building even. Buildings can collapse after some explosive. Dont stay inside that buildings, everyone will die.. you can destroy a building with some C4's with enemies inside.

Cars mostly explode when you are near like EU..

Aliens are just shooting you. So if you use a tank or car as cover, probably they will be explode.

In my experience, having nerded this game down, map environments usage is mostly "limited" to destroying walls (to get to places or hit flank aliens), using cover and using doors. In the many maps I've played, the usage of explosive map environments is very limited. It is unsure whether or not shooting one of the gas tanks will explode. It doesn't do enough damage to instakill aliens as you probably would have liked. It creates smoke which might make hitting enemies harder, etc. Just inconvenient to try and target them, if aliens aren't already using it as cover (might as well shoot it).

Positioning is key in ground combat still. You'll probably realize soon that concealment is the primary Xenonauts form of cover if you want successful runs.