Commodities
Supertanker Shortage Drives Up Oil Shipping Costs from Houston to Asia
A shortage of supertankers is driving up the cost of shipping oil from Houston to Asia, with prices rising by nearly a quarter of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude price.
The added freight expense is equivalent to $26 per barrel, making long-haul shipments significantly more expensive at a time when global oil logistics are already under pressure.
The shortage is affecting the economics of moving oil between distant production and consumption centers, with refiners in Asia facing higher delivered costs for U.S. crude.