Iran Expands Fleet of Oil Tankers Idling in Persian Gulf to 14
By Alaric Nightingale
June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Iran, OPEC's second-largest oil producer, increased the number of tankers idling in the Persian Gulf to at least 14, indicating it may be storing more crude, ship-tracking data show.
Iran has at least 14 very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, floating near Kharg Island, a loading facility. In April, there were 10, holding at least 20 million barrels of oil, people familiar with the situation said at the time. Shipbrokers also reported that Iran hired three more tankers, which have been near Kharg Island for at least two weeks.
Iran has a glut of its sulfur-rich crude because refineries that can process the fuel shut down for maintenance. The discount on Iranian Heavy crude compared with Oman and Dubai petroleum has widened for three consecutive months to its biggest since January 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings from supertankers more than tripled from April to May.
The use of vessels for storage has been a ``component of the rise'' in rental rates, Mathieu Philippe, a tanker broker at Barry Rogliano Salles in Dubai said by phone today. Rates have also been bolstered by record crude output by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and reduced demand for single-hull tankers that increase the risk of oil spills, he said.
The 14 supertankers are capable or storing as much as 28 million barrels of oil, equal to about 12 days of Iran's total output. The three tankers hired by National Iranian Tanker Co. can store another 5 million barrels between them.
Iran will start cutting the amount of crude stored on tankers this month, Energy Intelligence reported on its Web site May 29, citing Hojatolla Ghanimifard, executive director of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Co. |
