Nigerian crude export hit temporary floor

Nigerian crude oil differentials were steady on Tuesday as prices found a temporary floor due to supply glitches in key grades in a market characterised by fading demand according to Reuters report. Shell said its force majeure on Nigerian Forcados crude oil exports would be lifted by Late-October or November if all repair works went to plan. Traders said they expected the force majeure on Forcados to affect no more than 1-2 cargoes, or around 30,000-60,000 bpd. Shell has lifted the force majeure on its Bonny stream, declared on August 23. “On the back of waning demand from the U.S., which saw total crude imports drop by almost 300,000 b/d month-on-month in September, less supply of Forcados may provide a floor, even though a steep drop in Bonny Light shippings was unable to prevent differentials from sliding,” said JBC Energy’s David Wech. Traders said that around 15 tankers for November-loading were still reported to be available. They are not really moving. Differentials are suffering a lot because of the weak margins and increasing freight. Also, buyers like Conoco are taking less,” said a West African oil trader. Qua Iboe: assessed at dated Brent plus $3.40 to $3.50, unchanged from the previous day. Differentials on the benchmark grade have slid by about 85 cents since early September.