A Crack in the Wall

Over the last decade, China’s consumption of oil has grown more rapidly than any other nation. Its lead has single handedly supported incremental demand for VLCCs as it has risen to the second largest consumer of oil in the world. As a result, Chinese oil companies control about 35% of the VLCC market between spot and term charters. While this market share is up significantly over the past decade, it has held steady for the past few years, reflecting what is now perhaps the slowing growth of China’s oil markets and its economy as a whole. Download here