ADNOC spends $1.3B to expand tanker fleet
Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC is spending $1.3 billion to bolster its fleet of tankers as it continues to ramp up Gulf exports despite threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
ADNOC Logistics & Services bought six very large crude carriers, almost doubling its current fleet of eight, as well as five very large gas carriers.
ADNOC has been using tactics including shipping under darkness with transponders switched off and military escorts to shuttle crude and other refined products out of the Gulf.
Using its own vessels gives the company greater freedom to make these riskier voyages, as it takes a more assertive and expansive stance following its departure from OPEC.
The UAE has also been increasing oil shipments from the eastern emirate of Fujairah, which sits outside the Strait, via a cross-country pipeline. ADNOC L&S will take delivery of the vessels this quarter.
ADNOC chief says Iran shipping disruptions amount to extortion
The head of the UAE’s national oil company said Iran’s disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amounts to extortion, as attacks and threats against vessels curb traffic through the key energy corridor.
“When Hormuz flows, energy moves and economies grow – when it is disrupted, everyone pays.” Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Group CEO of ADNOC and the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said in a LinkedIn post.
Warning that the crisis risks undermining global energy markets, Al Jaber called for international cooperation “to protect the free flow of energy and safeguard economic stability.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s oil exports fell by about 50% in March, dropping by roughly 3 million to 3.5 million barrels a day because of the blockade, Bloomberg reports.
The disruption has forced Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil exporter, to rely on its East-West pipeline to move crude to Red Sea ports, which have capacity of roughly 5 million barrels a day, compared to normal export levels of about 7 million barrels a day.
