Nigeria’s March crude programme is struggling to find outlets, with some 25 million barrels still unsold even as the April loading programme is expected to start arriving this week, traders have said.
Despite this, offers for the oil have gone mostly quiet as those holding the cargos wait for reluctant buyers to return to a market awash with choice for oil, according to Reuters.
As of February 16, the price of crude oil (Bonny Light) stood at $32.32 per barrel, while the official naira exchange rate was N197 against the dollar, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Sellers were offering Qua Iboe, one of the country’s oil grades, at dated Brent plus $1.40, but buyers showed little interest and traders said values were less than $1 per barrel versus Brent.
Most buyers said the differentials would have to weaken somewhat in order to get the cargos moving, particularly with refinery maintenance coming and freight rates increasing to some destinations.
Still, several tenders due this week from Indian refiners would likely clear out a few thousands of the barrels. India is the biggest importer of Nigerian crude oil.
Lower differentials for crude oil from other regions, particularly Urals and Mediterranean crude, were said to have piled pressure on sellers to lower differentials to encourage activity.
The slow movement contrasted with Angola’s March loadings, which traded quickly due in part to larger term contracts with Chinese buyers that left less oil for spot trading.
Angola is expected to export at least 1.8 million barrels per day in April, slightly more than March.
The April loading schedule is expected to start emerging on Thursday or Friday.
Indian Oil Corporation is running two crude buying tenders this week, and the results of both are expected by Thursday.
Fellow Indian refiner, BPCL, also has a buying tender for West African grades loading from February 25 to March 6. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
Good news. God will destroy this evil country Nigeria
ReplyDeleteThat is impossible. God will heal and build our nation Nigeria again in Jesus' name. We are only going through a phase of lessons and we will learn by His grace. I silence that evil tongue. It shall not stand in Jesus'name!
DeleteAMEN my brother u're blessed for that statement
DeleteYes. May it get worse so we can have sense and leave niger delta alone
ReplyDeleteWhen a government relies on rent from extractive natural resources without diversifying, this is what you get. I am still praying for oil to sell for less than ten USD, so that black man will put his brain into gear. Greeks, many thousand years ago, without any natural resource, had to think out of the box to conquer their environments and up their living standards. Their technology and ideas are still being used today by the most advanced countries. Here, Africans wait for whitemen to come and extract for them resources before they can sell and survive in markets that are driven by the same whitemen. How can a people rely on natural resources whose prices are determined by the vagaries of international markets? Not even keke napep can we manufacture. All we can produce is church on every street by mostly quasi illiterates to force tithes and collection off the people with passages in the book of Malachi.
ReplyDeleteIf your problem is the church in this nation, then you are in for trouble. How can your problem in what is happening in this nation now be the church. Even if they are not getting it right, leave it for God to be the judge and do not cause trouble for yourself.
DeleteMay they stop buying our oil and we leave niger delta
ReplyDeleteApc na bad luck party.Just imagine! Baba is eating money junketing the whole world and they cannot find those to buy our petrol. It is a pity.apc na one chance party.
ReplyDelete