Sellers of October loading Nigerian crude oil cargoes lowered their offers in response to slow sales in a bid to stir some activity in a lacklustre market, traders said on Monday.
Offers for the benchmark Qua Iboe grade BFO-QUA and Bonny grades fell after sales last week proved to be very slow.
Traders said between half and two-thirds of the available 63 cargoes for October loading had yet to find buyers.
Nigerian crude oil differentials have been pressured by slack demand and ample supply, with an increasing flow from Libya, whose oil is of a similar light, sweet quality.
Libya’s oil output has risen to 740,000 barrels a day, the spokesman for state-run National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Monday, up from the 725,000 stated last week.
Angolan cargoes by contrast have sold relatively rapidly,and at levels slightly above those for September loading, which were at multi-year lows.
NIGERIA
Qua Iboe: Offers for October loading cargoes were said to have fallen to $1.80 from $2.10 last week. However, traders said that they would be likely to trade at below a $1.50 premium.
Nigeria is scheduled to export about 1.86 million barrels per day of crude in October, according to loading schedules.
The EA grade of crude oil is still under a force majeure,operator Shell said on Monday, although a cargo is thought to be
available for October loading.
ANGOLA:
Only around six October cargoes out of 55 initially offered for sale are still available about a week before November cargoes come to market.
Most grades have cleared including Hungo, Girassol, Cabinda, Saturno, Pazflor and CLOV.
ASIAN TENDERS
IOC will issue a tender next week for November loading barrels, traders said, with the award expected on Thursday.
BPCL issued a tender for October and November loading cargoes, with the result expected this week.
