Unfavourable arbitrages both east and west have hurt demand for West African light sweet crudes, particularly from traditional buyers such as Indian refineries that have started to snap up shale instead.
Traders said a handful of cargoes remained from Nigeria’s June loading programme. With stiff competition for buyers in Europe and Asia from both Mediterranean and U.S. grades, Nigerian crudes have felt the pinch badly in the past few weeks.
Force majeure on exports of Bonny Light crude remains in place, according to a spokesman for Shell on Wednesday, while repairs are ongoing on the Trans Ramos pipeline, which feeds crude to the Forcados terminal.
- Reuters