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Oil’s Turbulent 2019: Saudi Supply Panic to Freight Rate Frenzy

Workers repair a damaged tank at Aramco’s Abqaiq crude oil processing plant following a drone attack in Sept. 2019.

Workers repair a damaged tank at Aramco’s Abqaiq crude oil processing plant following a drone attack in Sept. 2019.

Photographer: Faisal Al Nasser/Bloomberg
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It’s been a tumultuous 2019 for the oil market. The year has seen surging crude prices due to attacks on key Saudi Arabian energy facilities and skyrocketing freight rates after American sanctions on Chinese shipping companies. On another front, oil processing margins in Asia have slumped to the lowest in more than a decade, while IMO 2020 is rattling the market.

Here are four charts that showcase the key events in 2019: