To study the settlement characteristics of subway shield tunneling passing through settlement sensitive areas in cities, a three-dimensional finite element model is established based on the example of subway shield tunneling passing through gas stations. The settlement distribution curves of the ground and oil tanks during the process of shield tunneling approaching gas stations are obtained. Furthermore, by changing the position of oil tanks, the influence of tunnel excavation on oil tanks under different a-rrangement modes is compared and analyzed. The results show that under the double-layer arrangement of oil tanks, surface settlement increases with the excavation of the tunnel, and the maximum settlement reaches 11.48 mm after construction is completed, close to the left side of the tunnel. Under the disturbance of tunnel construction, the maximum settlement of the oil tank reached 2.85 mm. Compared to the double-layer arrangement, the final settlement of oil tanks is reduced to 2.68 mm in the single-layer arrangement. The maximum settlement difference between the upper and lower sides of the oil tank has been reduced by 38%, and the settlement change rate of the surface measurement points of the oil tank has been reduced by 41%, significantly improving safety.