Kpler platform data indicated that the quantities of oil heading from the Middle East to Europe declined to 570,000 barrels per day during the month of December, down from 1.07 million barrels per day in October. Thus, energy markets have lost approximately 47% of crude oil supplies, a clear indication of the impact of the disturbances taking place in the Red Sea. Noting that the Red Sea disturbances intersected with the crisis of the decline in Libyan oil supplies, as a result of the protests, in addition to the decline in Nigerian oil exports after the operation of a new oil refinery and the refinery’s seizure of some supplies.
It should be noted that the disturbances in the Red Sea changed the courses of action of oil tankers heading from the Middle East, especially the Arabian Gulf region, to Europe. Tankers were now forced to go around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, instead of crossing the Suez Canal, which led to the lengthening of journeys by approximately 10 to 14 days. It is known that extending the duration of each trip in this way leads to reducing the number of repeated trips that can be made by a tanker, during a certain period of time, which has created a contraction in global shipping capabilities and a crisis at the level of energy supply chains.
Bloomberg reported yesterday, Friday, that Saudi and Iraqi oil shipments, carrying a total of 9 million barrels of crude oil, were late for the announced delivery dates, after they were forced to cross the route that skirts South Africa, instead of crossing the Red Sea. . The agency published a list of Saudi and Iraqi crude oil shipments, which were forced to modify their routes during the past few days, in a new indication of the impact of oil supply chains by the events in the Red Sea.
Unfortunately for importers of crude oil in industrialized countries, these events coincided with a decline in oil production in the United States by about 10 million barrels over the past week, due to the harsh winter weather there. It is expected, according to producers’ data, that the United States will not regain its production capacity for weeks, pending improvement in weather conditions and addressing the crisis of snow accumulation in production sites.
Oil prices recorded their second weekly gain this year, after the settlement of yesterday’s trading session on Friday, as the prices of a barrel of Brent crude oil rose by 0.5% this week, while US crude prices rose by 1%. These rises, driven by tensions in the Middle East and their impact on oil markets, came despite current concerns about the performance of the global and Chinese economies.
2024-01-20 12:31:54
#Red #Sea #unrest #oil #supply #crisis #Europe
