Second wave of floating storage triggered by ailing oil market
A stalled global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is leading to a fresh build-up of global oil supplies, pushing traders including Trafigura to book tankers to store millions of barrels of crude oil and refined fuels at sea again.
The use of so-called floating storage onboard tankers comes as traditional onshore storage remains close to capacity as supplies outpace demand.Trading house Trafigura has chartered at least five of the largest tankers each capable of storing 2 million barrels of oil, known as very large crude-oil carriers (VLCCs), according to trading sources and shipping data.A number of the vessels are newly-built and are due to store gasoil and diesel, for which unsold volumes are especially high after a modest recovery mid-summer....
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And via gCaptain, September 10:
BP Books Tanker for Storage at Lowest Rate This Year
Oil major BP has provisionally chartered a supertanker to store crude oil off Malaysia at this year’s lowest rate yet, according to industry sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon.....MUCH MORE
The charter is the latest in a flurry of ship bookings made by oil majors and trading houses after tanker rates plunged. A resurgence in coronavirus cases, poor weather and the end of the northern hemisphere’s summer driving season have slowed global oil trade and shipping demand.
BP chartered very large crude carrier (VLCC) Gene at $20,500 per day for three months and has the option to extend another three months at $22,000 per day, one of the sources said.
“It is the cheapest rate so far,” he said.
BP declined to comment. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak to media....
That is very cheap. We'll watch for either confirmation or a correction.
