Shipping disruptions due to attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea have boosted fuel demand as vessels seek to avoid the area, according to trading firm Vitol.
"We're consuming 100,000 b/d more fuel to go the long route globally," chief executive Russell Hardy told the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday. It has added about 3pc to the number of miles traveled.
The number of tankers passing through the Suez Canal today is still higher than in 2019 "because we have had to reorientate so much oil because of the Russia situation," he said. "There's a lot more unusual movement happening today than in 2019."
Separately, Vitol has pushed back its forecast for peak oil demand to the early part of the next decade given the "complexities" of the energy transition.
"Getting projects done, getting the grids decarbonized is taking longer than probably most people anticipated," Hardy said.
In terms of the LNG market, he predicted some limited gas demand growth in Europe while the "bigger demand case" is seen in Asia.
"A lot of the new production is going to end up in Asian markets," Hardy said. "There is huge growth potential just because there's still billions of tons of coal being consumed in Asia."
While the current LNG pause in the US has been a "talking point," Hardy said there was still "significant" demand under construction that is due to start up over the next few years.
