The oil tanker industry faces brighter prospects in the coming months with more crude set to arrive on the international markets, according to the Nordic American Tankers.
In its second-quarter update, tanker operator Nordic American Tankers said that “Demand for oil is going up. OPEC is raising its output.”
“Current high oil, gas and electricity prices, even long before the winter has arrived, is a sign of an energy chain in need for more. With an abundance of spare capacity of oil in the world, we believe it is just a question of time before even more oil will hit the world markets, and our tankers,” Nordic American Tankers said today.
While tanker owners and operators enjoyed rather good tanker rates in the first half of last year, rates have been down so far this year, as the OPEC+ group continued to withhold a large amount of crude from the markets.
Although the second quarter of 2021 has been challenging, “All around the world we see evidence of a growing demand for oil,” the tanker operator said.
In the long term, oil demand will still be a key pillar of global economy, according to Nordic American Tankers, which said that “The world will continue to need oil and has still not come up with a realistic alternative to this versatile and valuable raw material.”
“Energy transitions take time and oil will be needed for decades to come,” Nordic American Tankers added.
Early this month, Teekay Tankers’ president and CEO Kevin Mackay said that “Looking ahead, although the near-term outlook is uncertain due to COVID-19, we believe many of the leading indicators for a tanker market recovery continue to improve, including planned increases in OPEC+ production, declining global oil inventories, which are already below five-year average levels, and positive tanker fleet supply fundamentals as reflected in a low orderbook, heightened scrapping and a very limited amount of new tanker orders.”
OPEC+ is set to meet on September 1 to discuss its monthly easing of the cuts by 400,000 bpd. Although comments have emerged that the group could reconsider the timetable for tapering the cuts, expectations are that OPEC+ will proceed with the easing as planned.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
ADVERTISEMENT
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
- Oil Could Be Primed For Up To 50% Rally, Strategist Says
- Fujairah Oil Terminal To Upgrade As Crude Trade Is Expected To Surge
- Oil Stages Strong Recovery
