Low water levels on the Rhine River have resulted in transportation disruptions for shipments of petroleum products by barge, which in turn have resulted in record supply disruptions in markets upriver, such as Switzerland and southern Germany, and high stock levels downriver, in the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. The Rhine River, which runs northwest from the Swiss Alps through Switzerland, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, where it flows into the North Sea, is a major petroleum product transportation corridor. The navigable portions of the river connect the major refinery and petroleum trading centers of Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Antwerp in Belgium, collectively known as the ARA, to inland markets. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Tanker barges carry petroleum products from the ARA upriver to inland bulk distribution terminals that provide petroleum products to nearby areas. Water levels […]