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(Adds comment, background, U.S. inventory data.)
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The number of supertankers used to store crude oil worldwide dropped last month after a rally in crude oil prices lured barrels onshore, shipping data suggested Thursday.
A total of 34 very large crude carriers were in use for storage purposes at the end of May, down from 53 a month earlier, according to preliminary data from shipbroker Simpson Spence & Young Ltd.
The number of very large crude carriers - which typically hold about 2 million barrels of crude each - employed in U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude oil storage dropped to 16 from 24 over that period, said analysts at SSY, the world's largest independent shipbroking group.
U.S. government data Wednesday revealed an 868,000 barrel a day rise in crude imports boosted U.S. onshore inventories last week. The climb was partly attributed to crude being brought ashore as traders sought to cash in on a rally that has seen prices rise to seven month highs near $70 a barrel this week.
A narrowing contango structure in crude oil futures during May also likely contributed to the release of crude from floating storage. A wide contango - a structure where near-term contracts are priced cheaper than those further into the future - offers potential profits from buying crude at current prices and selling it at a future, higher price.
With global crude storage levels reported to have stood in excess of 100 million barrels at their height earlier this year, current prices and a change in the oil futures curve could bring even more crude back onto the market in the coming weeks.
However, with freight rates still at historic lows - and spreads between monthly contracts starting to widen again - it remains to be seen how long any destocking will persist.
"I think it will take quite a while [to clear the overhang of floating storage] and if the contango fluctuates it could increase again before it decreases substantially - cheaper charter rates obviously help," said Simon Chattrabhuti, head of tanker research at ICAP Shipping in London.
He estimated 33 very large crude carriers are currently being used worldwide for floating storage purposes.
-By Sherry Su, Dow Jones Newswires; +44(0)20-7842-9329; sherry.su@dowjones.com
(Lananh Nguyen in London contributed to this item)
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Publié le 04 Juin 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones

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