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verfasst von Bob, 12.10.2002, 17:46

-->Unusual Saudi Tanker Fix Linked To Securing Stocks -Indus

By SIMON JESSOP and JIM EFSTATHIOU

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON -- Saudi Arabia has chartered two ultra-large crude carriers and one very large crude carrier with a combined capacity of 9 million barrels, which could be used to boost crude stocks outside the region ahead of a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq, London shipping sources said Friday.

The ships would load in the second half of October. The charterer is Vela, a wholly-owned subsidiary of state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco (C.SOI), suggesting Saudi doesn't have a buyer for the crude in place. Although the cargoes could yet be sold while afloat, some analysts suggested the crude could be placed in storage.

The use of two ULCCs, that can carry more than 3 million barrels each, is unusual against a backdrop of the recent weak shipping market.

They are being used to move large amounts of crude out of the Persian Gulf quickly, Andrew Lorimer, an oil trade analyst with Lloyds Marine Intelligence Unit, said.

"Both producers and consumers want to have a safeguard (against) the possibility of war, so the oil is outside the danger area," Lorimer said."There's no real other reason for using the ULCC. Economically speaking, it doesn't make sense."

If the vessels go to storage facilities in the Caribbean or U.S. Gulf it would signal a large increase from the normal monthly storage deliveries said to be some 6-7 million barrels.

"The oil's coming from Saudi Arabia but the charterer is Vela so it's likely they will take it to their storage facilities over in the U.S. Gulf," said Lorimer."But that decision might not be made until it gets over there," he added.

Leo Drollas, analyst at the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, said of the report:"It wouldn't surprise me...because they (Saudi Arabia) are closer to the Americans than people think and they can see trouble ahead. They want to both benefit from it and show they are a responsible producer."

CGES' Drollas said:"After Sept. 11, they (Saudi Arabia) moved crude out to storage without anyone knowing and six months later Crown Prince Abdullah said they had done this."

Other regional producers are reportedly shifting stocks outside of the area ahead of any hostilities.

Kuwait is stockpiling 13 million bbl of crude and 2 million bbl of refined products outside the Gulf to secure supplies for the European units of Kuwait Petroleum Corp.'s (C.KPT) refining subsidiary, said industry journal Arab Oil And Gas, citing Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas.

An unconfirmed Al Qabas report suggested a Caribbean-based company had been asked to charter 10 tankers on Kuwait's behalf.

However, a senior Kuwaiti oil source told Dow Jones Newswires Friday:"There's no such move from Kuwait."

"When it comes to the outside (stockpiling), it's very easy to be detected by the shipping market," he said. Kuwait Petroleum normally stockpiles 50-60 days of oil, primarily for local use, he added.

The demand for oil tankers in the Persian Gulf means freight rates for all destinations are rising after slipping as low as World Scale 25-35 in the summer.

Rates for VLCCs in the Gulf have picked up strongly this past week, supported by the increase in demand and on rising insurance rates after an attack on the French-owned tanker Limburg off the coast of Yemen Sunday.

Rates for VLCCs from the Persian Gulf to Japan have risen to WS70 from WS48,"a big jump, especially in the context of the situation the market's been in for the last couple of months," said Simon Chattrabhuti, shipping analyst at London-based shipbroker Clarksons.

The increase in demand has been seen noticeably in the spot tanker market, with 131 fixtures in September compared with 104 in August.

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• Details vom Ã-lmarkt - Bob, 12.10.2002, 17:46