WSJ: fuel price will remain high due to tanker shortage

Damage to the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia and the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz lead to a shortage of tankers for oil transportation, writes The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) with reference to experts. According to the newspaper, because of this, fuel prices will remain high in the near future.

The Houthis attacked the East-West pipeline on September 10. Earlier it was reported that he will not be able to resume full-fledged work for several weeks. According to the WSJ, this leads to the need to transport more oil through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as to use more complex routes around it. Several hundred supertankers are idle in the region or make short trips along the shore instead of the usual work around the world.

According to Windward estimates, the cost of renting a supertanker for loading in the Persian Gulf and the passage of Hormuz is in some cases $ 1 million against about $ 100 thousand at the usual time. Transportation costs per barrel of oil reach $26.

Rising transportation costs mean that even if oil prices fall, gasoline in the US and elsewhere will remain expensive. “For refineries, the final cost of oil supplies is important. The price of the gas station includes all these costs, and the consumer will pay the full cost, said Adi Imsirovic, lecturer in energy systems at Oxford University.

Jana Christmas