4 January 2010
Oil market contango keeps US tank terminals at capacity
With the oil market in contango, traders have a strong incentive to put crude and refined products into storage, which is good news for tank-farm operators, writes Anne Feltus
IT IS A GREAT time to be in the US oil terminalling business. Tank farms across the country are bulging with crude oil and petroleum products as a result of almost unprecedented demand for storage capacity. By late October, oil inventories had risen to volumes almost 30% higher than the same period in 2008, according to the government's Energy Information Administration (EIA), and distillate stockpiles had reached their highest level in almost 30 years. A combination of forces has been working to the terminal owners' advantage. With several large discoveries in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico (GOM) coming on stream (PE 12/09 p19), the EIA projects total domestic oil production for the year
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
