沙特向美国运送原油的超级油轮数量激增

据Oil Price网站2020年4月8日利雅得报道，美国彭博新闻社汇编的油轮追踪数据显示，全球最大的原油出口国沙特阿拉伯正在履行自己的承诺，即在需求大幅下降的情况下向全球市场供应大量的原油，此举导致沙特原油运往美国的超级油轮数量激增。

彭博社汇编的数据显示，3月 份，当沙特阿拉伯承诺向市场大量供应原油时，该国对美国的原油日出口量达到了一年来高点的51.6万桶。

4月份到目前为止，至少有7艘超级油轮目前正在驶往美国墨西哥湾沿岸的路上，这7艘超级油轮总共装载了1400万桶原油。相比之下，3月份同期沙特运往美国的原油只有200万桶。根据彭博社汇编的数据，几乎所有的超级油轮都由沙特阿拉伯国家航运公司巴赫里(Bahri)包租。

就在3月初欧佩克+减产协议谈判破裂以后，沙特阿拉伯的Bahri就立马租用了多艘超大型原油运输船来外运沙特计划在4月份出口的所有额外原油产量，这对于沙特这家自己拥有41艘油轮的航运公司来说的确是一个罕见的举动。

沙特原油出口的激增加上全球因疫情影响造成巨大的需求损失，一些分析师预计，4月份全球石油需求量将比全球正常需求水平减少30%，即日减3000万桶。

当世界主要石油生产国试图达成一项更广泛的减产协议时，沙特阿拉伯并没有改变其策略——至少在4月份没有改变其策略。IHS Markit海运与贸易部门液体散货首席分析师福蒂奥斯?卡特索拉斯本周写道，沙特阿拉伯的原油货物将提前几周交付。

据IHS Markit海上大宗商品的数据，沙特阿拉伯正在按照承诺推进更多的原油出口。

卡特索拉斯说，“沙特阿拉伯未来将每天出口接近700万桶的原油，但沙特目前的原油日出口量已超过900万桶。”

这位分析人士指出，尽管要求达成全球协议的外交压力越来越大，但沙特阿拉伯仍准备进一步扩大原油出口。

IHS Markit 海上大宗商品的数据显示：“目前，至少有18艘载有压舱物的超级油轮的位置非常靠近沙特阿拉伯的拉斯塔努拉和延布的石油终端，这两个石油终端总共可装载约3600万桶原油。”

李峻 编译自Oil price.com

原文如下：

Saudi Arabia Sends Wave Of Supertankers To U.S. Ahead Of Oil Meeting

The world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, is making good on its promise to flood the world with oil even as demand collapses, with a surge in tankers carrying Saudi crude to the United States, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Wednesday.

Last month, when Saudi Arabia pledged to flood the markets with oil, the Kingdom’s crude oil exports to the U.S. hit a one-year-high of 516,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to the data compiled by Bloomberg.

So far this month, at least seven supertankers carrying a total of 14 million barrels of oil are currently traveling to the U.S. Gulf Coast. This compares to just 2 million barrels of Saudi oil en route to America in the same period in March. Almost all tankers are chartered by the Saudi state-run shipping firm Bahri, according to the data compiled by Bloomberg.

Just after the collapse of the OPEC+ production cut deal in early March, Saudi Arabia’s Bahri was understood to have hired multiple very large crude carriers to carry all the extra oil that the Kingdom planned on exporting in April—a rare move indeed for the shipping company that sports its own fleet of 41 tankers.

The surge in Saudi oil exports coincides with a colossal demand loss around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, and some analysts see global oil demand in April crashing by 30 percent, or by 30 million bpd, compared to the world’s typical levels of consumption.

While the major oil producers in the world are trying to forge a broader production cut deal, Saudi Arabia isn’t changing tactics - at least not this month; cargoes were scheduled weeks ahead, Fotios Katsoulas, Liquid Bulk Principal Analyst, Maritime & Trade, at IHS Markit, wrote this week.

According to IHS Markit Commodities at Sea, the Saudis are pressing ahead with more crude oil exports as promised.

“Saudi Arabia was exporting close to seven million barrels a day, but current activity stands above nine million barrels a day,” Katsoulas said.

The Kingdom is ready to further boost its exports, despite growing diplomatic pressure for a global deal, the analyst noted.

“At least 18 ballast VLCCs are currently positioned very close to Saudi Arabia's oil terminals of Ras Tanura and Yanbu, which could load around 36 million barrels in total,’’ according to IHS Markit Commodities at Sea.