Nigeria Seeks Buyers for Unsold Crude Oil Cargoes

Even with delays in loading the over 60 crude oil cargoes for March 2016 delivery, Nigeria still has to grapple with the 15 cargoes for February loading that remained unsold. Trade sources reveal that the unsold cargoes are still looking for buyers. Presently at 62 cargoes, Nigeria’s March loading is looking to show an increase from February loading. According to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), though the requests from Asian buyers went a long way to clearing West African Crude, the number of unsold cargoes is expected to rise. Fourteen February-loading cargoes from Nigeria and Angola were also moved into the United States. At the moment, the United States draws 500,000 b/d of imports from producers such as Nigeria and Norway. This is a rise from what was experienced in 2014 and 2015 when the flow dwindled to next to nothing following the local production of Shale Oil in the US.