Sinopec unit books world’s largest ship to store crude

A Chinese trading firm has booked the world's largest super-tanker to store crude at sea, adding to a growing flotilla of vessels used for floating storage as benchmark oil prices slip below US$100 a barrel.

Industry sources said Unipec, the marketing arm of Beijing-backed oil giant Sinopec, has booked the 3.2-million-barrel TI Europe, one of just a handful of ultra-large crude carriers (ULCCs) still in service. It is listed as the world's largest ocean-going vessel by tonnage, and is as long as the Empire State building is tall at 380 metres.

The booking is the latest sign that soaring oil supplies and tumbling prices are prompting traders to store crude in volumes not seen since the financial crisis more than five years ago. Analysts estimate more than 50 million barrels of oil may already be placed in storage.

The move also demonstrates the growing clout of state-backed Chinese firms in international oil trading, with Unipec and PetroChina establishing sophisticated dealing desks in key hubs such as London and Singapore in recent years. Unipec plans to ship cheap oil from Europe and store it off Singapore aboard the ULCC, trading sources said.

"It doesn't surprise me," said one oil trader in London.

"They have been buying everything in northwest Europe," he added, referring to the large number of cargoes Unipec has bought since the start of this month of Russia's main export crude, Urals.