LONDON: Nigerian crude oil differentials remained elevated on Monday by a problem with a key grade having its output curtailed due to a problem with a pipeline.
Shell said on Friday it had suspended third-party exports of Nigeria's Forcados grade of crude oil due to a leak in the pipeline which it is repairing. It said there was no change in the situation on Monday.
There were less than 10 cargoes available for purchase in April. Cargoes for this month have sold faster than those earlier in the year, supported by firmer gasoline differentials in Europe and more demand from US refiners.
The outlook for Angolan differentials was not so bullish traders said, in part because of a pick up in production for cargoes to be exported in May versus April.
Angola will export 1.67 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in May, up from 1.53 million bpd planned in March, a provisional shipping list showed on Monday. Tight supply from Libya underpinned differentials for West African grades.
Libya's oil production is currently less than 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) after the El Sharara oil field stopped pumping due to a new protest, a spokesman for state-owned National Oil Corp (NOC) said on Monday. Production was at around 1.5 million bpd under the previous government.
NIGERIA:
Qua Iboe: Traders valuations varied between $2.50-$3.20 above dated Brent, down from a peak of about dated Brent plus $3.40 a barrel earlier this month.
Traders estimated around eight Nigerian cargoes were still available for April loading. These included the benchmark Qua and Bonny grades.
ANGOLA:
Six Plutonio cargoes were due for export in May, up from three the previous month and none in March.
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