Crude Realities: The Rollercoaster Ride of Oil Prices and the Quest for Storage Space
What happens when you take precariously low oil inventories, pile on production cuts from two of the world’s largest producers, continue an ongoing war on the Russian front and mix in a war about to happen in the Middle East? One would think that oil prices would go to the moon, right? In actuality, it seems that any bullish news for oil prices is being promptly discarded and, instead, the market is salivating and dwelling on any bearish news that germinates from the fast paced news cycle. The bottom line is, instead of seeing escalating oil prices, we’re seeing all kinds of price volatility – which one should expect. We’re also seeing price haircuts, which is somewhat mind boggling. So hedge funds, if you want to run with the big dogs, you’d better get off of the porch. Woof woof (translation = get some tanks!) WTI futures settled at $87.70 per barrel on Friday, gaining more than 4% for the entire week. Brent crude futures with December expiration closed at $90.89 per barrel.
The US EIA anticipates a gradual decrease of global oil inventories by 200,000 b/d during second-half 2023. That trend will continue through the first-quarter of 2024, mostly based on the OPEC+ production cuts. For the rest of 2024, the fortune tellers expect things to become more balanced. Wanna bet?
In light of all of this volatility, The Tank Tiger was hurrying and scurrying last week fielding inquiries for a myriad of commodities seeking tank space. Last week we saw demand for storage to contain ethanol, tall oil, renewable diesel, asphalt, turpentine, fuel oil, veg oil, methanol, propylene, and crude oil. We also have a terminal for sale in New England. If you want to talk midstream, we’re your favorite chatty Kathy. If you’re looking for tank space, we’ll help you – for free. If you have empty tanks looking for customers, we’ll send eager customers your way. Let’s go!
