Biggest oil glut the world has ever seen is just waiting offshore

Estimates put the supply of oil now floating in tankers on the world's oceans at 1 billion barrels. Photo by Tim Rue/Bloomberg

Crude prices look set for a deeper plunge as signs grow that the world’s oil surplus is bigger than anyone expected.

Estimates put the supply of oil now floating in tankers on the world’s oceans at 1 billion barrels. The last time it was this high was during the pandemic when a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia sent Brent crude spiralling to US$30 a barrel, said Capital Economics.

“This implies that an oil glut is on the horizon,” said Hamad Hussain, Capital’s climate and commodities economist.

Last week, the International Energy Agency warned the oversupply of oil will be bigger than forecast, and said the excess was starting to accumulate on oce