Rotterdam, Europeâs largest port, may be running out of space to store crude as global oil demand posts its first back-to-back annual drop in a quarter-century. The harbor is Europeâs largest refinery center and a trading hub for refined products such as gasoline and diesel. Some ships have been diverted or are waiting outside the port until space is available, said Jeroen Kortsmit, manager for commercial affairs at Royal Dirkzwager. âA lot of tanks are fully loaded,â Kortsmit said by phone from Rotterdam April 27. He joined the company, which provides shipping information to terminal operators around the port, 24 years ago and said he has never seen storage this full before. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, accounting for about 40 percent of global supply, agreed to cut output three times since September as demand crumbled. Oil prices have plunged 66 percent from a record $147.27 a barrel reached in July. Rotterdam can store 11.9 million cubic meters of crude, port data from 2007 show. Thatâs equal to about 75 million barrels or enough to supply the 27-nation European Union for about five days. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ae.YS7TBN0jY&refer=home Hum...does that mean Dubai has to stop their gigantic real estate projects ? LOL !
They already have stopped many if not most of them. How do you like NAT here? I see them benefiting nicely in 2009 from tanker storage and your article seems to support that hypothesis. What do you think?