LONDON: Total exports of Nigerian crude oil are expected to slide in February after reaching a three-month high for January, a compilation of loading programmes showed on Tuesday.
The export programme for Brass River crude, which was under force majeure, had not yet been issued, leaving just 56 cargoes for a total of 53 million barrels planned for February loading.
While a Brass River programme was expected once the force majeure was lifted, it would not enable February exports to reach the 61.7 million barrels initially planned for January.
Still, the shorter month, even with a leap year total of 29 days, means that February's 1.83 million barrels per day (bpd) of exports was only 8 percent lower than January's 1.99 million bpd, even without the Brass River programme.
The Atlantic Basin is still oversupplied with oil and there are at least a dozen January loading Nigerian cargoes looking for outlets.
But certain Nigerian crudes - particularly condensates and others with a high yield of light products such as gasoline and naphtha - have sold more quickly than expected on the back of high margins for those products and resilient buying from eastern refiners, particularly those in India.
Ultra low official selling prices from Nigerian state oil company NNPC have also helped keep the cargoes moving.
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