欧洲对石油和天然气的争夺正在导致油轮短缺

欧洲正试图在冬天到来之前尽可能多地购买石油和天然气，这导致油轮不得不行驶更远的距离，航次也更少

液化天然气运输船短缺尤其严重，因为大部分船队已经预订冬季的需求，预计需求将攀升，特别是当美国自由港液化天然气终端重新启动时

与此同时，交易商将越来越多的原油和燃料放入浮式仓库，这使得油轮市场更加紧张 

据油价网9月20日报道，美国彭博社新闻报道说，由于欧洲从产能大国以外的任何地方寻找石油、天然气和燃料，油轮市场正在出现短缺，因为向欧洲运送化石燃料的船只必须航行更长的距离和更少的航次。 

业内高管表示，LNG市场受到的影响最大，因为LNG运输船的船队已经相当有限。此外，由于航运公司预计在冬天需求旺季对LNG的需求会激增，这些船只已经被预订到冬季。他们还在为原定于11月重启的美国自由港LNG终端做准备。 

彭博新闻社还指出，在所有这些基础上，交易商将更多的原油和燃料放入浮式存储中。这就导致了油船市场的紧张，随着对化石燃料运输船的需求上升，油轮市场将变得更加紧张。  

9月早些时候，彭博新闻社在另一篇报道中指出，交易商们都急于确保尽可能多的冰级油轮。禁运将使原油流向非欧洲地区，其中很多可能会使用北海航线。

除此之外，在过去几年里，油轮的建造已经放缓，这在需求即将飙升之际进一步加剧了油轮市场的紧张。这表明，油轮运费价格有进一步强劲上涨的潜力，这将增加燃料进口商的能源成本。  

彭博新闻社援引交易商的话报道说，如果亚洲经济体想要在短时间内从美国进口石油和天然气，就特别容易受到这种油轮短缺情况的不利影响，因为一旦供暖季节开始，这可能就不可能了。 

李峻 编译自 油价网

原文如下：

Europe’s Scramble For Oil And Gas Is Causing A Tanker Shortage

·     Europe is attempting to buy as much oil and gas as it can ahead of winter, which has resulted in tankers having to travel further distances and make few voyages.

·     The LNG carrier shortage is particularly acute as much of the fleet has already been booked for winter when demand is expected to climb, especially when Freeport LNG restarts.

·     At the same time, traders are putting an increasing amount of crude and fuel in floating storage, which is making the tanker market even tighter.

As Europe looks for oil, gas, and fuels from anywhere but the larger producer, a shortage is developing on the tanker market, Bloomberg has reported, as vessels carrying fossil fuels for Europe have to travel longer distances and fewer voyages.

The LNG market is suffering the most, according to industry executives, because the fleet of LNG carriers is already quite limited. Also, these vessels have already been booked for the winter as shippers anticipate a spike in demand for LNG during peak demand season. They are also preparing for the restart of Freeport LNG, scheduled for November.

On top of all this, traders are putting more crude and fuels in floating storage, Bloomberg also noted. This is contributing to a tight tanker market, about to get tighter as demand for fossil fuel-carrying vessels rises.

Earlier this month, in another report, Bloomberg noted traders were in a rush to secure as many ice-class tankers . 

In addition to this, tanker building has slowed down in the past few years, further contributing to the tightness of the market at a time of a looming demand spike. This suggests a strong further upward potential for tanker freight prices, adding to energy costs for importers.

According to traders, cited by Bloomberg, Asian economies are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of the situation if they want to import oil and gas from the U.S. at a short notice since this might be not possible once heating season kicks in.