NIGERIA

BP bought two more cargoes of October-loading crude from Vitol. The company bought one cargo of mid-October loading Bonny Light at $1,55 a barrel above dated Brent and a late October/early November-loading cargo of Qua Iboe at $1.75 above the dated price, three traders said.

BP was also said to have bid for the four largest grades, Bonny Light, Qua Iboe, Forcados and Bonga, as high as $1.75 a barrel, from closer to $1.65 on Monday.

BP built up a fairly sizeable position in October-loading cargoes of the four grades, which are linked to the swaps market, in the last week or so.

Traders at two refiners said this had tightened availability to the point where sellers were loath to cut their prices, even though half the October loading programme is still up for sale, with just days to go before the release of the November schedules.

ANGOLA

Fewer than a dozen cargoes of October loading crude are still unsold. ENI and Unipec were still said to be offering Olombendo, with the latter also said to be offering cargoes for delivery in China.

Among the crude still available are one or two cargoes of Gindungo held by Total.