Vitol CEO Says Middle East Oil Shipments Running at 14 Million Barrels a Day

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Summary · why it matters

Russell Hardy, chief executive of commodities trading giant Vitol, said on the 6th that over the past seven to ten days, about 12 million barrels a day of crude oil and 2 million barrels a day of refined products, a total of roughly 14 million barrels a day, were shipped by tanker from the Middle East. Speaking at an Energy Intelligence Forum held in London, Hardy noted that with Western inventories nearly depleted, supplies of 10 million to 14 million barrels a day are supporting the balance of supply and demand in energy markets heading into winter, and said that without this supply, a scenario in which crude prices reach 200 dollars a barrel is possible. The global oil market has shown considerable resilience this year in the face of successive supply disruptions, he said, with what began as a crude oil crisis turning into a refined products crisis and now taking on the appearance of a maritime shipping crisis. Hardy said shipping costs have surged sharply because they cannot be predicted even within a margin of 2 to 4 dollars a barrel, and everyone is feeling a heavy burden. He also expressed the view that tightness in the refined products market will continue through the winter, explaining that the world still lacks refining capacity, mainly because of attacks on Russian infrastructure and the loss of five months' worth of refining operations in the Middle East.

Impact on assets 3

Others▲
⛏Brent Crude Oil Futures
BRENT
▲ PositiveSupplyrelevance

Vitol CEO flags tight global crude supply and warns of a possible $200/bbl scenario absent Middle East flows, a bullish supply signal for Brent.

⛏Crude Oil WTI Futures
WTI
▲ PositiveSupplyrelevance

Vitol CEO says Middle East shipments of ~14M b/d are supporting the supply-demand balance and warns crude could hit $200/bbl without them, signaling tight supply supportive of WTI.

⛏Heating Oil Futures
HEATOIL
▲ PositiveSupplyrelevance

Hardy says the refined products market will stay tight through winter due to insufficient refining capacity and lost Middle East/Russian refining operations, supporting heating oil.

Off-coverage companies 1

Vitol Groupi
Private± Mixedrelevance