Vitol President: Red Sea Crisis Increases Global Fuel Consumption by 100,000 B/D

The CEO of Vitol, the energy and commodities trading company, Russell Hardy, revealed today, Wednesday, that "the shipping sector consumes an additional 100,000 barrels of fuel per day to travel longer distances to avoid crossing the Red Sea." Hardy added that the total distance ships travel is up about three percent compared to before the Houthi group in Yemen began launching attacks on shipping operations. He noted that oil tanker traffic in the Red Sea is higher today than it was five years ago, but global conflicts have led to shifts in global trade flows. He continued during a panel discussion at the CERAWeek energy conference held in Houston, Texas, saying, "We have had to reroute many paths all around." He added, "There are more unusual movements happening today than there were in 2019."