Will the world run out of storage to place unwanted barrels of oil?

The reduction in oil demand caused by coronavirus-related turmoil and Saudi Arabia’s record-high production have combined to create a massive oversupply. Where will it all go?

Oil prices have collapsed over the last few weeks, with NYMEX crude and ICE Brent hitting lows Wednesday last seen 2002-03.

This week the International Energy Agency (IEA) weighed in on the biggest question facing the oil market.

“Global oil demand has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus and the widespread shutdown of China’s economy,” the IEA said in its latest monthly report.

Oil demand will fall by 435,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year ago, marking the first quarterly decrease since 2009, according to the IEA.

A team from Ursa traveled to Geneva this week for a global oil conference hosted by Argus. The event draws from the large pool of Geneva-based oil traders, as well as folks from around the world.

There was plenty to discuss. The topics included:

• The September 14th attacks on Saudi Arabia oil infrastructure

• Shipping fuel regulations going into effect next year

We've spent some time recently digging into our global crude inventory data and have found interesting correlations with a range of tradeable instruments.

In a previous whitepaper, we focused on ICE Brent futures, NYMEX WTI, single-name equities (i.e. ExxonMobil) exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes.

The fire that engulfed a Philadelphia refinery on June 21 caused such extensive damage the owner decided to permanently close the financially-struggling facility.

It isn’t unusual for refineries to experience natural & man-made disasters. When these events strike, people are eager for information on the extent of destruction which can sometimes be difficult to obtain.

Ursa's weekly crude inventory data for Cushing has a strong correlation to EIA's weekly data for this location. This complementary white paper demonstrates the correlation and reliability of Ursa's data, which comes out days ahead of EIA data.

We don’t just see earth from space. We like to hit the road, meet with clients and interact with folks in the industry which is exactly what we did this week.

Seven of us descended upon Houston to attend the S&P Global Platts North American Crude Oil Exports Summit, which was sponsored by Ursa.