LONDON: Nigeria's export programme for March, including an increase in at least two grades, began to seep out on Friday amid a persistent backlog in February loading cargoes, traders said.
Exports for the largest stream, Qua Ebo, are set to rise in March, as are exports of Bonny Light, even as 15-20 cargoes remain available for February loading.
The glut reflects the lack of interest in light, sweet crude, with some traders trying to take advantage of market contango by putting crude into onshore and floating storage. This week Nigeria cut the official selling price (OSP) of its largest crude stream, Qua Iboe, as well as Bonny Light, but traders said the lower prices had yet to spur sales.
"They aren't selling, but they would have to offer at lower prices," one trader said of Nigerian crude. The export programme for Forcados was not yet available, so it was unclear whether issues on the Trans Forcados pipeline that emerged early this week were hitting exports. Sources said that those using the pipeline for export -- NPDC, Seplat and PanOcean -- had shut down the fields feeding it, though some were optimistic it could be up and running by the weekend.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.