Offshore hoarding of oil imminent

Speculators could soon be hoarding crude oil in supertankers off the coast of Ireland and other European countries if prompt oil prices keep falling, shipping and oil executives say.

A glut of crude in spot markets is forcing the price of oil for immediate delivery below forward futures costs, and it could soon be profitable to buy oil, store it, and sell it later in the year at higher prices.

Three years ago — the last time oil prices fell sharply on world spot markets — dozens of supertankers were moored off Scotland and along the south coast of England as floating storage.