OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2016. Of late, oil prices have been experiencing a sharp decline, leading to prominent alterations in oil trends, including the supply of crude oil exceeding its demand. This depression in oil prices has caused a severe oil glut across the world, creating a storage crisis. As a result, the demand for oil storage facilities is witnessing a remarkable surge since the last few months.

Apart from this, the plummeting oil prices have also intensified the competition within the oil sector. The leading companies involved in oil supply are aggressively focusing on expanding their operations to increase their supply volume, which is likely to create a huge demand for oil storage units in the coming years.

According to a research study published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global market for oil storage, which stood at 1,337 mn cubic meters in 2014, is likely to increase its market volume to 2,027 mn cubic meters by 2024 at a CAGR of 4.73% during the period from 2016 to 2024.

In this blog post, analysts at TMR answer important queries about the worldwide oil storage market:

What are the key trends that are likely to define the future of global oil storage market?

The demand for oil storage facilities will mostly be influenced by the overhaul in the oil sector over the next few years. With the supply of crude oil surpassing its demand, the need for storage facilities has suddenly intensified, leading to increased oil inventories. Oil companies, especially in Europe and Asia Pacific, are focusing on increasing their storage capacity by constructing new storage facilities.

Apart from this, the demand for finished petroleum products, propelled by the rise in road travels, has also fueled the need for storage capacity expansions considering the future usage, which is expected to impact the demand for oil storage facilities positively in the coming years.

What are the factors influencing the demand for oil storage facilities in various regions?

The Middle East and Africa leads the demand for oil storage facilities across the world. The surge in oil production and the decrease in oil prices are the key driving forces behind the extensive demand for oil storage in this region.

The growing need for additional oil storage space has been driving the demand for oil storage in North America. The increasing investments for the expansion of storage capacity are likely to boost the market for oil storage in North America in the near future.

On the other hand, the demand for oil storage facilities in Asia Pacific is anticipated to be greatly influenced by the rising investments in petroleum reserves in this region over the next few years.

What are the latest developments in this market?

The oil prices are continuing to tumble with the rising crude stockpile in the U.S. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the crude supplies have increased by 2.5 million barrels in the country till mid-August 2016. Oil suppliers in the U.S. are compelled to build new storage facilities in the next few months, leading to a sudden surge in the oil storage market in the U.S. and across the world, at large.

Japan, on the other hand, is planning to examine the potential for increasing the capacity of Okinawa-based Saudi Arabia’s crude oil storage facility in the near future, which will also reflect positively on the global market in the long run.  At present, the facility boasts of a capacity of 6.29 million barrels crude oil.