Tanks, gluts and contangos
A rush on storage capacity to deal with oil’s excess is buoying storage rates, from Rotterdam to Cushing and beyond
Oversupply of crude and contango in the forward curve have offered handsome rewards to anyone with capacity to stash oil. It’s been a bonanza period for storage owners. Stocks have built and built. Total commercial crude inventories in rich nations surged again in January, rising by more than 20m barrels to 3.034bn, according to the International Energy Agency. It left levels at 338m barrels, or about 10%, above their normal range for that time of year and almost 270m barrels higher than during the same period of 2015. It means more than 0.7m barrels a day poured straight into OECD tank farms over the 12 months. Investors in the biggest storage firms have reaped the rewards. Most storage fac
Also in this section
22 April 2026
The failure of OMV Petrom’s keenly watched exploration campaign at Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh block highlights the Black Sea’s uneven track record, despite major successes like Neptun Deep and Sakarya
22 April 2026
Sustained strikes on ports, terminals and refineries are testing the resilience of Russia’s oil export system, yet rapid repairs, rerouting and surging prices mean the campaign has yet to deliver a decisive blow
21 April 2026
After overcoming a COVID-induced demand collapse with several years of successful market management, geopolitical events have conspired to provide the pact’s biggest test to date
21 April 2026
The regime’s policy of using nuclear ambiguity as a deterrent may have failed but it has realised it has other cards to play, while its neighbours are reappraising their approach to security
