Supertanker Shortage Drives Up Shipping Costs by 25% of Oil Price

Shipping costs have increased significantly for oil due to a shortage of supertankers. According to Bloomberg, moving a cargo from Houston to Asia now adds around $26 per barrel, or $52 million per cargo, to the cost of supplying the world's largest crude-importing region.

This is roughly equal to a quarter of the price of West Texas Intermediate futures and represents a significant increase in shipping costs. Previously, shipping accounted for only a tiny fraction of the overall cost.

Oil traders are concerned that these higher costs may make it unprofitable for some refiners to buy crude oil that has to be transported over long distances, even when demand is strong.

Saad Rahim, chief economist at Trafigura Group, said 'it has never been this expensive to move oil around.'