The major trend in North American storage markets this year has been the focus on handling the continent’s burgeoning crude oil production. It is in a unique position among the world’s centres, with storage hubs in Asia-Pacific and Europe largely driven by market backwardation—when spot prices are above futures prices—and concerns over the implementation of the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) stringent new sulphur regulations for maritime fuels. By August, crude oil storage volumes at the key price-setting hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, were up an extraordinary 83pc from August 2018 at 48.1mn bl, according to oil storage specialists at Genscape.
