Traders Race for Rotterdam Oil Storage Before Russia Sanctions

Trading houses and refiners are racing to book storage tanks in Rotterdam in the coming months on expectations of a supply crunch after the EU sanctions take effect, according to a storage official at Koninklijke Vopak NV.

The bloc’s measures banning most seaborne Russian crude imports take effect on Dec. 5, targeting Russian oil revenues as a result of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

The storage company has seen heightened inquiries about using its tanks to bring in Russia’s Urals grade into the northwest Europe refining hub up to the Dec. 5 cutoff, the official said.

The Rotterdam-based firm ...