REUTERS
The top manager says oil storage is now the most profitable business.
Executive Director of National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine Yuriy Vitrenko has commented on the collapse in global prices of crude oil, saying that Ukraine has a huge oil transportation system and facilities where oil can be stored.
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"The price of oil in the world has plunged into negative territory. I mean, they [sellers] are willing to pay extra money to have their oil taken away. This can be explained by the fact that there is no place to store oil, and it's impossible to stop production without significant losses in the future," he said on Facebook on April 21.
Meanwhile, the United States has enough capacities for oil storage until November at the current rate of production and consumption, he added.
According to Vitrenko, Ukraine's capacities to store oil are also big enough.
"In Ukraine, there is a huge oil transportation system able to store oil, one operating oil refinery (in Kremenchuk) with significant storage capacities, as well as many mothballed refineries where such capacities were once available," he added.
Vitrenko says crude oil storage is now the most profitable business, so "we shouldn't miss the opportunities and [need to] maximize their monetization."
"The situation with natural gas in Europe is different, but no one knows what to expect. Maybe our gas storage facilities will soon become the most profitable business too," he said.
On the evening of April 20, crude oil prices became negative for the first time in history, as sellers paid extra to buyers. Thus, the price of oil at 21:40 Kyiv time tumbled to a record minus US$40 per barrel.