THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
APRIL 15, 2009, 9:50 A.M. ET
LONDON (Dow Jones)–European traders are moving more North Sea crude oil cargoes to the U.S. and Asia as European demand remains sluggish, traders and shipping brokers said Wednesday.
The very large crude carrier Hero 1, chartered by Dutch trading house Vitol Holding B.V., left the North Sea after it completed loading at Sullom Voe, Scotland, late Monday, they said.
The destination of the supertanker remains unclear, but some traders said it might be the U.S. refining hub of Galveston, Texas.
There is likely to be about 1.4 million barrels of Forties crude oil and about 600,000 barrels of Brent, which is loaded at Sullom Voe, on the vessel, traders said.
Meanwhile, the VLCC Astro Taurus, chartered by Norwegian oil company StatoilHydro ASA (STO), is now loading at Hound Point, Scotland, and is likely to sail to South Korea, shipping brokers said.
This month, the VLCC Front Shanghai, booked by Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), left the North Sea for Galveston.
It had been moored off Southwold, eastern England, for more than three months, where it was used to store Forties crude, traders said.
In late March, Vitol moved the VLCC Eagle Vienna loaded with 2 million barrels of Forties to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with an option of 30-50 days of storage at a cost of $55,000 a day, shipping brokers said.
Since late February, around 11 million barrels of North Sea crude oil, mostly Forties crude, have been shipped to the Americas, mostly the U.S., according to Dow Jones Newswires’ record.
Slack demand from European refineries, partly due to maintenance season, forced traders to find more outlets for North Sea crude oil.
“(Crude) runs are fairly low (in Europe),” said a trader.
Heavy outflow also helped reduce floating storage of North Sea crude oil. Currently, three VLCCs are being used to store Forties crude, compared with eight in early February.
The VLCC Leander and Oliva, booked by Shell, are now moored off Southwold, while the Olympia, chartered by French oil company Total S.A. (TOT), stayed on waters off Rotterdam, traders said.
But some traders said floating storage of Forties may increase again due to weak demand and tumbling freight rates.
VLCC freight rates for the benchmark route from the Middle East to Japan has fallen to around Worldscale 26 from W40-W52 in early February, shipping brokers said.
Traders are now keeping a sharp eye out for Shell, which has snapped up lots of Forties cargoes over the past two weeks. It kept all seven cargoes for early May loading and also bought four cargoes for late April loading in the cash market.
“Looks like Shell will be on the look to fill some more,” said another trading source.
-By Sherry Su, Dow Jones Newswires; +44(0)20-7842-9329; [email protected]
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
