Tankers have been storing an additional 20 million barrels of refined oil at sea since the end of May, indicating that supply is still far outstripping demand.
News agency Reuters reported that the amount of refined oil products being stored in such a way is enough to meet three quarters of the world’s daily demand.
Shipbrokers and traders said that a total of 62 million barrels of refined oil is being stored at sea, the majority being off Europe’s coast, up from 41 million barrels since May.
Hydrocarbon storage capacities in most ports around the world are believed to be at capacity. In a recent interview with ArabianOilandGas.com the CEO of the Dubai-based Horizon Terminals, Yusr Sultan, said that his company was experiencing high demand for its facilites.
“We are seeing a very high capacity at the moment. The movement [of refined products] isn’t there but the demand for physical storage is,” Sultan said.
Global oil consumption stands at around 83 million barrels per day.
