HomeFeatured NewsGlobal shock: saturated storage ... Tunisia could no longer import oil

Global shock: saturated storage … Tunisia could no longer import oil

US oil is currently experiencing one of the worst crises and this is a real blow for producers and operators in the sector.

What is happening in the United States has in fact never happened… There is talk of “inelasticity”… A term that Bloomberg used to characterize this painful fall.

Inelasticity’, the term reflects the inability of the oil supply to adapt to the fall in demand.

An explosion of oil inventories in the face of totally collapsed consumption.

Worse, in 2020 a barrel of oil will not find a buyer at negative prices.

Would Tunisia be impacted by this crisis?

Adviser to the Minister of Energy in charge of the hydrocarbons portfolio, Hamed Matri said Tunisia would not be able to benefit from the fall in oil prices on the world market and the purchase of large quantities of hydrocarbons due to insufficient storage and reservoir capacity.

In a statement given to African Manager on Thursday, April 23, 2020, Matri added that all fuel tanks are full and that Tunisia now has enough stocks for about 3 months.

”The Ministry of Energy has, moreover, held several meetings to study the situation, except that everyone in the sector has admitted that the main problem is the low storage capacity”, he said.

In order to act on the storage capacity, the ministry contacted all gas stations in all governorates to consider the possibility of buying more fuel.

The owners pointed out that the tanks are saturated and are not able to pump more quantities due to the stagnation of sales since the announcement of general lockdown in the country.

Domestic fuel consumption declining

The adviser to the Minister of Energy in charge of the hydrocarbons portfolio Hamed Matri also stressed that the national consumption of hydrocarbons has fallen by 40%, due to the cessation of economic and industrial activities, as well as lockdown.

For the first time ever and for the first time, the price of US crude oil has traded below zero. Indeed, sellers paid dearly to have their inventories cleared.

Demand for oil has declined in recent months due to procedures to shut down sea and air borders following the spread of the coronavirus.

In the United States, the price of a barrel of oil reached -37.63$ per barrel.

Matri stressed that the problem of storage concerns the whole world and not only Tunisia, during this exceptional period, adding that in the future the storage and refining system will be reviewed and studied.

Crude oil stocks have exploded in the United States because consumption has collapsed.

As a result, the 159-litre barrel of crude oil quoted in New York, which was trading at more than $60 at the start of the year and at $18.27 on Friday 17 April, ended Monday 20 April at -37.63.

He also said that Tunisia faces another constraint today, that of how to dispose of the domestic hydrocarbon production.

Towards a fuel price adjustment, starting May 6

In a statement given to AfricanManager on Thursday April 23, 2020, the adviser to the Minister of Energy in charge of the hydrocarbons portfolio said the public sale prices of certain fuels will be revised.

The rate of decrease will be 1.5%, that is to say a reduction of 30 millimes”, he explained.

Matri also stated that since the beginning of April, the ministry has approved the change in the mechanism for revising fuel prices every 3 months to 5% of a decrease or increase in relation to the current price.

Thus, an adjustment of 1.5% of decrease or increase compared to the current price every month goes up to 2% at the beginning of January of the year 2021.

Between pandemic and economic collapse, the world is currently experiencing unprecedented crises. Is this the apocalypse?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -

MOST POPULAR

HOT NEWS