VLCC This sector sunk a little further this week. For 280,000mt Middle East Gulf to USG (via Cape of Good Hope) the market is assessed half a point lower at the WS17.5-18 level. Weakness was also been seen in the 270,000mt Middle East Gulf to China route where rates have slipped a point to WS35.5 .
Aframaxes that have been floating in the North Sea after loading Forties crude are expected to compete with Urals into European refineries, sources said. “There floating cargoes have to place local – relative value to Urals makes Forties cheap,” one North Sea trader said. While Forties is a North Sea grade, it is considered sour .
It's easy to overestimate the royal family's power - Readers' Letters scotsman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scotsman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tanker Trade Still Underwhelming
The tanker market is still rather undewhelming, as demand hasn’t yet rebounded to a level, sufficient to generate positive momentum. Examining North-West Europe crude oil export trade, shipbroker Banchero Costa said in a recent report that “2020 was overall a very negative year for crude oil trade, although of course the tanker market was partially shielded by the increased demand for floating storage. Total loadings in the 12 months of 2020 were down -5.6% year-on-year to 2027 million tonnes, according to vessels tracking data from Refinitiv. Some exporters were more affected than others. Crude shipments from Saudi Arabia went down by -3.2% y-o-y in 2020 to 357.7 mln tonnes. Exports from the rest of the Arabian Gulf went down by -9.3% y-o-y to 494.3 mln tonnes”.
Forties oil work to drive drop in June Brent benchmark supply – source
The North Sea Forties crude oil stream will load only one or two cargoes in June due to planned maintenance work, two trade sources said on Thursday, reducing supply of the crude that underpins the global Brent benchmark.
“It’s going to be a tiny programme,” one of the sources said, adding that the Hound Point terminal where Forties cargoes load would be closed for most of June.
Forties is normally the largest or second-largest of the five crude grades that underpins Brent, loading as many as 15 cargoes in a month. The other four grades are Ekofisk, Oseberg, Troll and Brent itself.