17SEP2019 - NEWS - HSFO prices set to leap in wake of Saudi attacks

The attack on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure over the weekend has shut down around 6m barrels per day of output, equivalent to around 60% of Saudi Arabia’s total output and 6% of total crude oil output worldwide.

Brent prices jumped at the open today, the biggest intra-day surge since trading began in 1988.

Singapore’s Eastport Research & Strategy warned today that the immediate losers in shipping from the attacks could be owners who have invested in scrubbers. 

“Surging Brent prices may further add upward pressure to bunker values. Supplies of HSFO have already tightened in many bunkering ports due to the switch from high sulphur to low sulphur grades,” Eastport stated.