Buyers are rushing to purchase maritime oil shipments, as Middle Eastern conflicts continue.

As the most direct buffer against oil supply shortages—crude oil in floating storage—is rapidly diminishing, buyers are scrambling to acquire oil stored on tankers away from the Strait of Hormuz.

According to data from intelligence firm Vortexa, the amount of oil in floating storage has dropped from 140 million barrels at the end of last year to about 78 million barrels this week.

According to Vortexa, since the start of the Middle East war, the amount of oil at sea has been consumed at a rate of approximately 1.8 million barrels per day. The consumption rate of floating storage oil is one of the fastest in years, indicating that Asian buyers are looking for physical supplies that are almost immediately available.

The temporary exemption granted by the U.S. for Russian oil on tankers has certainly helped India purchase such crude. In the weeks leading up to the outbreak of war, Indian refiners had been avoiding buying Russian oil due to U.S. pressure to cut imports.

India is now winning the competition, attracting Russian oil cargoes, with some vessels changing course mid-journey to abandon their original destinations and head toward India. This is due to the U.S. exemption and the impact on Middle Eastern supplies prompting Indian refiners to resume purchases of Russian oil.

As floating storage buffers rapidly deplete and oil prices remain at levels that are difficult for the Trump administration to bear, U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said on Thursday that the U.S. may “lift sanctions” on more than 100 million barrels of Iranian oil on tankers.

Mnuchin stated on Thursday that the U.S. has taken action to “lift sanctions” on approximately 130 million barrels of Russian oil cargoes already at sea and may take similar measures regarding about 140 million barrels of Iranian oil in floating storage.

Analysts say that lifting sanctions on Iranian oil will be difficult to achieve, as other significant sanctions against Iran (including in the banking and insurance sectors) still remain in place.

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