U.S. crude oil production potential has been significantly damaged. VLCC floating storage situation has improved dramatically over the past several months. The stock of refined products at five major ports remains elevated, but is declining slowly. OPEC seaborne crude oil exports are down some 26% y-o-y. Contango (in both WTI and Brent futures) has been narrowing steadily over the past month. This week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory draw of 0.8 million barrels (MMbbl) for the week to November 13. It was a “bullish surprise” as analysts had expected an inventory build of ... (full story)