Thirty crude oil cargoes are sitting in Nigeria and waiting for buyers, Reuters reports, citing trading sources who added that the cargoes were part of the country’s loading schedule for August and September, and there is still chance to sell them by the end of next month.
The news comes amid a slowdown in oil demand from the biggest consumers of the commodity: Asian economies, whose growth has been faltering recently.
Yet Angola is raising its shipments abroad, Reuters also reported. The country sold 47 cargoes for loading in September and now plans to sell another 49 for loading in October.
The news might suggest there is plenty of oil supply, or at least plenty of Nigerian oil supply: another Reuters report from this week said that Nigerian oil supply might hit a three-month high in October, with daily loadings at 1.12 million barrels, to a total of at least 38 cargoes.
Nigerian supply may be plentiful, but its effect on benchmark prices is limited: despite the reports, which clearly suggest ample supply of West African crude, prices inched up yesterday as concern about the supply squeeze due to follow the reimposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran deepened. The sentiment was helped by the American petroleum Institute’s report of an estimated 5.2-million-barrel draw in crude oil inventories for the week to August 17.
Although official figures from the Energy Information Administration will be released today, the market regularly reacts to API’s estimates. It also reacted favorably to an announcement from the White House that 11 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be sold soon. This reserves sale is part of a previously announced drawdown for fiscal year 2019 but it will be done now, ahead of the last round of Iranian sanctions, due to come into effect on November 4.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
- Iran Sees Oil Exports Fall By More Than 500,000 Bpd
- This Vital Oil And Gas Choke Point Could Be At Risk
- Spending Boost Fails To Raise Production In The Permian
