Splash 247: Poten Turns Cautious on VLCC Prospects After OPEC Cuts

Tanker brokers Poten & Partners warn in their latest weekly report that VLCC rates for next year could be hit by news from Vienna last week of a cut in global oil production.

OPEC and non-OPEC countries thrashed out a deal in the Austrian capital on Friday to cut a combined 1.2m barrels of oil per day, something that has already seen oil prices start to stir.

The production cut will start from next month and will use October 2018 output levels as a baseline.

Poten noted that so far, 41 VLCCs have been delivered this year, with another nine on the books for this month. Some of these will undoubtedly move into 2019.

“This may give owners pause, since there are already 61 VLCCs scheduled for delivery next year,” Poten warned, adding: “With the planned cut in production, we think it is prudent to be relatively cautious about tanker rates in 2019.”

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