Crude oil contango arbitrage and the floating storage decision
Title
Crude oil contango arbitrage and the floating storage decision
Subject
Crude oil
Contango
Floating storage
Forward freight agreements
Time charter rates
Description
We investigate charterers’ ability and willingness to exploit floating storage arbitrage opportunities. Using time-series and fixtures data on time-charter rates, we find that arbitrage opportunities were present during the Financial Crisis and the recent Oil Glut. An investigation of storage profits across storage horizons suggests that positive oil supply shocks favour longer storage horizons than negative oil demand shocks. Evidence from spatial ship-tracking data suggests charterers are reluctant to exploit the arbitrage opportunity when the implied value of transportation from Forward Freight Agreements (FFAs) exceeds the storage profit. Our findings are of interest to maritime economists and oil market participants.
Publisher
Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review
Date
2019-02-01
Contributor
Regli, Frederik
Adland, Roar
Type
Journal Article
Identifier
7KWB6G7J
1366-5545
10.1016/j.tre.2018.11.007
Collection
Citation
“Crude oil contango arbitrage and the floating storage decision,” Lamar University Midstream Center Research, accessed May 14, 2024, https://lumc.omeka.net/items/show/1402.