LONDON: Vitol has won a tender to supply India’s IOC with crude oil, but other trading was limited on Thursday as differentials rose and some buyers baulked at higher prices.
ANGOLA
Trading slowed on the remaining cargoes from the January export plan, as some delays in Chinese crude allocations kept buyers off the market.
Just under 10 cargoes remained available.
Strength in dated Brent, and backwardation in the market, were limiting other demand from Eastern buyers.
The February loading plan was expected early next week.
NIGERIA
Sellers continued to offer light crude cargoes at higher prices, particularly grades such as Forcados or Bonga that could replace North Sea Forties.
Qua Iboe was offered as high as $1.95 per barrel above dated Brent, and Bonga at premiums up to $1.60 and Forcados as high as $1.80 per barrel.
While some buyers said these differentials could work, others said European buyers were more likely to take either Libyan or Algerian crude, which is closer, or US crude, which is priced against cheaper WTI futures.
Roughly 25 cargoes were left to trade.
TENDERS
Vitol won at least part of a tender to supply Indian refiner IOC with crude. IOC purchased 4 million barrels, traders said, with Vitol getting at least 2 million.
The grades in the award were not immediately clear.
Indian refiners MRPL and HPCL are also running tenders to buy oil.
RELATED NEWS
The global oil market will likely show a surplus in the first half of 2018, as rising US supply offsets OPEC’s discipline in maintaining its production cuts for the whole of next year, the International Energy Agency said.
Nigerian state governors approved the release of $1 billion from the country’s excess oil account to the government to help fight the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, aims to regain lost market share after an OPEC-led supply-cut pact ends and plans to push ahead with a downstream expansion strategy to be on par with Big Oil, its chief executive said.
Source: Brecorder.com
