The volume of crude oil on tankers at sea jumped to the highest since 2020, the latest demonstration of how Russian crude is sailing longer distances to new buyers.
Oil on water — the volume of crude sailing to a destination or floating idle at sea — rose to 1.27 billion barrels last week, according to Vortexa Ltd. data.
The increase reflects the recasting of the global oil market following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The figure is up by almost 230 million barrels since August as Moscow diverts supplies to buyers farther afield, especially India and China, while Europe has had to pull in more crude from elsewhere.
