Nigerian benchmark Qua Iboe up 10-20 cents

Nigerian crude oil differentials strengthed slightly on Wednesday, supported by a modest uptick in U.S. and European refiner interest and some uncertainty over the supply of Iranian barrels, soon to be banned from Europe. Nigerian benchmark Qua Iboe was assessed 10-20 cents stronger although Nigerian cargoes for March were still said to be moving only slowly. March loading cargoes of Angolan crude oil have nearly sold out, following relatively strong demand from Asia and a fall in the export volume for the month.
A flurry of last-minute sales of Angolan and other cargoes to Chinese companies appears to have pushed up the total of Nigerian barrel sold to Asia for February above 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), possibly to as high as 1.9 million bpd, traders said.