VLCCs continue to find a greener pasture in West Africa
CRUDE oil exports from West Africa have continued to rise upwards as production disruptions in Nigeria have subsided. Cargoes loading in Nigeria tend to move on suezmaxes more often than crude in Angola, which is shipped on very large crude carriers to Asia. This rise in outbound shipments from West…
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NovRates unlikely to surge during oil tanker peak season as overcapacity weighs.
OIL tanker rates that fell into lossmaking territory on maintenance at oil fields and refineries in October may not have sufficient momentum to hit the highs seen in 2016-2017 during the November to January peak season. “The market fundamentals are too weak for that to happen. We are seeing…
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NovNigeria close to maximum crude oil exports
From a low of 1.3M b/d in March, Nigerian crude oil production has improved in each subsequent month to reach an estimated 1.8M b/d in September. Despite being exempt from the initial OPEC-led deal to curb production from 1 January 2017, and despite having produced around 2.2M b/d as recently…
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NovItalian Police Bust Libyan Fuel-Smuggling Ring
Italy’s Guardia di Financia (financial police) announced Wednesday that they have cracked a black market fuel smuggling ring that allegedly trafficked at least $35 million worth of Libyan petroleum products over the course of 30 voyages. Prosecutors in the port of Catania have issued arrest warrants for nine individuals, including…
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OctDirty Tankers West of Suez Commentary.
Aframax prices were steady in the Mediterranean Tuesday with sentiment firm due to delays in the Black sea, while Suezmaxes saw lower prices in West Africa to due to weak demand, sources said. There was a steady volume of cargo being traded in the Black Sea and Mediterranean and the…
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