A cargo of Nigerian crude was offered from storage in South Africa, traders said on Wednesday, reflecting the Brent market’s move into a structure where oil for prompt delivery trades at a premium to future supplies, Reuters reports.
Total was offering a cargo of Nigerian Escravos from storage in the South African Saldanha Bay site at dated Brent plus $1.50, traders said. The offer comes amid a move by the Brent market into backwardation, reducing the profit keeping crude in storage.
The October loading programmes for most grades point to exports of about 1.72 million barrels per day (bpd), compared with 1.88 million bpd in September. Indian refiner BPCL awarded its tender to buy 1 million barrels of Nigerian crude for October loading to Total, a trader said. The grade was thought to be Nigerian Agbami.
