By Keith Wallis and Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - Traders are increasingly storing oil in ageing supertankers in Southeast Asia as they grapple with a supply overhang that has left the system clogged with unneeded fuel despite an OPEC-led drive to cut production to prop up prices. Around 10 very large crude carriers (VLCCs), all between 16 and 20 … [Read more...]
Full Tanks and Tankers: A Stubborn Oil Glut Despite OPEC Cuts
By Catherine Ngai NEW YORK/LONDON/SINGAPORE May 19 (Reuters) - After the first OPEC oil production cut in eight years took effect in January, oil traders from Houston to Singapore started emptying millions of barrels of crude from storage tanks. Investors hailed the drawdowns as the beginning of the end of a two-year supply glut - raising hopes for steadily rising per-barrel … [Read more...]
Asia’s Floating Oil Storage Sets Sail as Market Slowly Tightens
By Mark Tay SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Traders are selling oil held in tankers anchored off Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in a sign that the production cut led by OPEC is starting to have the desired effect of drawing down bloated inventories. Yet in the short-term, the crude released from tankers will weigh on markets and possibly undermine OPEC's goal of … [Read more...]
Iranian Floating Storage Tankers Exit Persian Gulf
By Matthew Wheatley, Oil Analyst, Genscape (Genscape) - During the week ending November 11, three vessels, used for floating storage in Iran, left the Persian Gulf for destinations in India and South Korea, according to Genscape. Floating storage is often used to leverage a rising oil price. However, Iran’s decision to start exporting from floating storage may … [Read more...]
Oil Tankers Used to Store Millions of Barrels at Sea as Land Sites Fill
By Alex Longley (Bloomberg) -- Oil companies booked tankers to store as many as 9 million barrels of crude in northwest Europe amid signs that space in on-land depots is filling up, a ship-operator said. The glut could get bigger still, given the region is scheduled to load the most cargoes in 4 1/2 years next month. There are 14 to 16 Aframax-class tankers now … [Read more...]
Hong Kong-Based Winson Oil Buys Ship to Store Oil in Europe
By Jessica Jaganathan SINGAPORE, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based trader Winson Oil has bought a very large crude carrier (VLCC) to store oil in the Mediterranean as it pushes to expand its business in Europe, two company sources said. The step could boost Asian gasoil margins if the firm enters the spot market to make large purchases to fill the vessel, traders … [Read more...]
Oil Traders Looking Again Towards Floating Storage
By Javier Blas (Bloomberg) -- The world is so awash with crude, the boss of BP Plc said people will be filling their “swimming pools” with it by the end of the year. While the company’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley bemoaned this bearish outlook for oil, traders were eyeing a potentially profitable opportunity: turning supertankers into temporary floating storage … [Read more...]