Tanker-Rate Slump Ending as Asia Refiners Restock African Crude
- Record shipping for month of October seen for Nigeria, Angola
- China stockpiling reserves may spur tanker company recovery
A supertanker carries oil in the Gulf of Aden.
Photographer: Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
For operators of very large crude carriers, the tankers that move as much as 2 million barrels of oil across oceans on a single trip, the fourth quarter can’t come fast enough.
Since July, shipping rates have dropped by 47 percent after later-than-usual maintenance caused Asian refineries to close and demand to fall. Now rates are poised to reach their highest levels in a final quarter since 2008, according to analysts who point to growth in the amount of crude scheduled to be loaded from West African countries in October. Nigeria is aiming for a 9.5 percent rise in the number of barrels shipped compared with last year, while Angola’s programs show a 6.7 percent increase.