Oil traders book US vessels to store gasoline, ship fuel overseas

An overnight piece via Reuters ICYMI, probably not breaking news to anyone keeping track of energy markets.

  • Oil traders are hiring expensive U.S. vessels, normally only used for domestic shipments, to store gasoline or ship fuel overseas, five shipping sources said, in a sign of the energy industry’s desperation for places to park petroleum amid a 30% drop in worldwide demand.
  • Several shippers said they have started to book Jones Act (JA) vessels for foreign voyages or to store refined products. The century-old Jones Act requires that vessels traveling between domestic ports be owned and operated by U.S. crews, and they are generally more expensive than other vessels.
  • “It’s very unusual to use JA tankers for international trips,” one shipping source said.
Here is the link to the Reuters article if you’d like more
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On another oil related item – tomorrow we’ll get the weekly private oil inventory survey. This will likely report a further build up of stocks – but there be a slowing in the builds as some US states begin to reopen.
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