W. Africa Crude-Focus turns West as China stays out of the market

Buyers in Europe and the United States were the primary hope for sellers of Angolan crude oil this week as Chinese buyers shied away from significant buying.

European refiners joined their American counterparts in booking Angolan crude oil cargoes this week, helping to absorb some of the 56 cargoes of October-loading oil.

Traders said that while more than a dozen of the cargoes have now traded, most are anticipating China’s Unipec and others to return to the market in the next few weeks.

“They should come back at a later stage,” one trader said. “They may be waiting for (prices) to go lower.”

While some European refiners said they booked cargoes earlier in the week as crude oil futures plummetted, but the late-week rebound could be putting off some buyers, traders said.

Most expect prices to soften again, and Arab OPEC members have already cut their price expectations for this year, showing they are prepared to tolerate cheaper crude for longer to defend market share and curb rivals’ output.

In the meantime, the Shell force majeure on Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude oil and the slightly lower Angola loading programme were also helping to shore up the excess.

Additionally, a lower-than-usual maintenance programme at European refineries this year could also provide another outlet for the oil.