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The imminent collapse of the “shadow fleet” means that energy prices are going up for Delaware businesses and consumers, and you need to know why. The shadow fleet consists of oil tankers that have been deployed for several years by Russia, Venezuela, and Iran to skirt economic sanctions placed on those governments. The vessels often operate with fake papers, phony insurance, and more.
When the U.S. toppled the Maduro administration in Venezuela, we essentially ended the export of oil from Venezuela to Cuba and other countries by capturing ten shadow fleet vessels. Recently, the United States, Belgium, and other countries have also seized shadow fleet vessels from Russia, limiting their ability to sell crude oil and evade economic sanctions. Meanwhile, the war in Iran means that more than 200 million barrels of crude, loaded on tankers in the Persian Gulf by Iran, could soon be confiscated as well.
Collectively, this means that roughly 4 million barrels a day of crude oil that was making it to market illegally each day may disappear from the market.
The net result will be a very different global crude oil market. The former customers of shadow fleet providers (Russia, Venezuela, and Iran) will now need to meet their oil demand in other ways. That added competition means supply may increase and prices are likely to increase too.
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