![]() ![]() ![]() The oil price trajectory, the pace at which OPEC return further crude production to the market, refinery margins and Iran’s nuclear talks will also weigh on crude and refined volumes available for shipment. Even unchanged, the total 99.6m bpd figure is still some 300,000 bpd below pre-pandemic levels. The Omicron variant will shave some of the 3.5m bpd of demand growth that the IEA had originally forecast. The International Energy Agency downgraded its forecasts for jet fuel and kerosene prior in its November monthly report and noted demand will still be 20% below pre-coronavirus levels by the end of 2022. The Delta variant was already responsible for sluggish global jet fuel demand which lagged the recovery seen in other transport fuels, which together comprise some 62% of oil consumption. July-through-September crude imports into China were 13.8% down on the prior-year period, Joint Organisation Data Initiative data show. In the last half of 2021, the world’s largest importer slashed shipments and relied on stocks as prices reached seven-year highs. The silver lining to lower crude costs is that it may trigger further buying from China, benefiting larger tankers. Oil prices plunged 20 percent in one day on fears the latest COVID-19 variant will weaken demand, and by extension, volumes of crude and refined products for shipment. Spot rates for most of the tanker fleet have been at or below operating expenses for most of the past 15 months.Įarnings for the global fleet of some 15,000 tankers over 10,000 dwt that ship crude, refined products and chemicals gained over November, returning many shipowners briefly into the black during one of the seasonally strongest periods of the year. The global pandemic shrank demand for oil and refined products – especially transport fuels – curbing crude production and building inventories that reduced seaborne export flows. ![]() Total losses for the first nine months of 2021 surpassed $1bn. Now, a new coronavirus variant that first emerged in South Africa in the final weeks of 2021 injects fresh doubt.Įleven of the world’s largest listed tanker companies reported collective losses exceeding $400m over the July-through-September period, after spot rates averaged the lowest in nearly three decades. In November it looked like a cold winter and rising international air travel in the New Year would lead a long-anticipated recovery. The swift reintroduction of international travel bans to stem the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has derailed the already faltering turnaround in rates and earnings for the global tanker market. ![]()
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