Crude oil terminal in Xuwei Port area of Lianyungang Port, Jiangsu
Outlook 2025: Crude markets look forward to brighter 2025
China drove the market for crude into the doldrums in 2024 with a big drop in demand, but a turnaround looks likely next year
At the time of writing this analysis, the jury is still out on the final oil demand growth figures for 2024. But one thing is for sure: the foremost forecasters and market participants have been deeply disappointed by the oil market’s performance. We at Vortexa track all seaborne oil and gas flows. Unfortunately, the picture looks even bleaker than the demand assessments. Based on data for the first ten months of 2024 vs the same period of 2023, seaborne shipments of all oil were down by 500,000b/d, with 300,000b/d of this accounted for by crude. Only LPG arrivals were up, by about 100,000b/d, thanks to rising US exports, while motor fuels were flat, with the remainder of the decline account
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
