Rising oil prices will not help the tanker sector, according to the latest Tanker Forecaster from Drewry Shipping Consultants. “The economic turbulence and the subsequent impact on oil prices have dealt a double blow for this sector,” said the editor of the quarterly report, Parul Bhambri. “Oil demand has fallen for a fifth consecutive quarter. Job losses and mounting credit woes mean that people are travelling less and trying to cut their energy bills. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA April 09), upstream investments in the oil industry could be reduced by 15-20% in 2009, which would lead mature field output to decline by a sharper 9.4%. So in addition to deferred expansion plans, current output would also decline at a higher rate than previously envisaged.