Global Fuel Oil Shortage Looms Amid Ukraine and Middle East Conflicts

A global fuel oil shortage is expected in the third quarter of this year due to ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters predict that disruptions in both regions will lead to a tightening of global fuel oil supplies.

The decline in supplies threatens to increase costs for shipowners and electricity producers, who are already facing operational disruptions. Asia is expected to be hit hardest, as the region relies heavily on imports from Persian Gulf countries where supply disruptions have emerged.

Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, imports over half of its roughly 1 million barrels of fuel oil each day from the Persian Gulf region.