ARA: lift from logistics
Operators at the big ARA terminals are benefiting from long-distance trade and new products
Independent storage operators in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area are seeing strong growth in business and they claim it is structural. Regional product imbalances are growing – although at one time they were forecast to decrease as refinery capacity became more flexible. Accordingly, trading opportunities result. Even better, the trade is physical – movement of products through tanks, from and to vessels. Because of the way storage fees are structured, physical operations benefit the operators much more than contango-trading, in which product is held in-tank in the hope of a price rise. Physical operations are also likely to be long-term, while contangoes can evaporate. Statistics
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
