Asia's oil markets tighten noticeably on OPEC cuts

It’s over a year that the OPEC and non-OPEC output cuts deal got into effect and its impact is explicitly seen in Asia, as the region’s oil markets have tightened noticeably, Reuters reports.

This is due to the significant amounts of excess crude having been taken off tankers used for storage and delivered to customers across Asia, the latest shipping data showed.

Key Details via Reuters:

“Shipping data shows about 15 super-tankers are currently filled with oil floating off the coasts of Singapore and surrounding Malaysia, Asia’s main trading and storage hub for crude coming from the Middle East to Asia.

That’s slightly less than last November, and half the number of tankers used for storage in mid-2017.

Traders say onshore tanks in the region, including at Vopak’s site in Johor, Malaysia, are also not booked out anymore.

The fall in storage is a sign production restraint started by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia in January 2017 is having the intended effect of reducing a global glut.”