Shell Books Supertanker to Store Crude Oil at Sea

Royal Dutch Shell has booked a supertanker to store 2 million barrels of oil at sea to park mounting global stocks, shipping sources said on Wednesday.

Shell declined to comment.

The sources said Shell had booked a very large crude carrier (VLCC), which can store up to 2 million barrels of oil, for a five-month charter. Refinitiv data showed the hire cost paid was $40,000 a day.

Sources told Reuters last week that Shell had provisionally booked at least three supertankers to store crude oil at sea.

The glut of oil in world markets has prompted efforts by oil players to find storage options including both on land and offshore on tankers.

(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Jonathan Saul and Ron Bousso, editing by Louise Heavens)