Iran Dumps A Glut Of Oil Onto The Market

Vincent Fernando, CFA
Business Insider
July 12, 2010

Iran just released 40% of oil it had been storing in idle tankers, according to ship tracking data from AISLive. Six vessels of oil are expected to be hit Europe, creating a potential short-term glut situation for traders.

Hellenic Shipping News:

“Storage is the safety valve that blows from time to time,” Anders Karlsen, a shipping analyst at Nordea Securities in Oslo, said by phone today. “It makes an impact most certainly” on the tanker market, he said. Incentive Fades

The reduction coincides with a trend among international oil companies to cut sea storage as the financial incentive to do so fades. The amount of crude held on tankers hired for long- term storage, excluding Iranian supplies, has fallen 60 percent this year to 17 million barrels as of July 2, according to ICAP Shipping International Ltd.