Oil Traders Squeezed as Cuts Won’t Ease Mideast Storage Crunch
- Fujairah storage operators deny requests as all tanks leased
- Biggest oil-producing region is no haven for surplus barrels
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The coronavirus that’s throttling fuel demand and forcing global producers to make unprecedented output cuts has left markets awash in so much crude that even the Middle East’s main oil-trading hub has run out of room to store unwanted barrels.
Terminal operators at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates say they’re turning down requests from traders and refiners to store crude and refined products, whereas a year ago they had ample space. The port’s 14 million barrels of commercial crude-storage capacity is just a fraction of what Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi provide for their state oil companies.