Nigeria Oil Sales Challenge Persists as French Strikes Drag On

Nigeria is still struggling to find buyers for its oil as strikes at French refineries and seasonal maintenance at plants elsewhere in Europe curb demand.

(Bloomberg) — Nigeria is still struggling to find buyers for its oil as strikes at French refineries and seasonal maintenance at plants elsewhere in Europe curb demand.

Little Nigerian crude traded last week, with more than 20 shipments for April loading still hunting for buyers, according to traders specializing in the West African market. That’s similar to 10 days ago, when 20 to 25 of the cargoes — holding 1 million barrels of oil each — were on the market. 

Even as crude sales sputter, output in the West African nation has rebounded. Nigeria has been reviving production at some key streams such as Bonny Light that were halted for months by crude theft and technical issues.

Sellers have limited options to clear the glut of oil, consultancy FGE said on March 29. Cargo holders could look to resell their supplies at a discount, or hold the volumes in floating storage until the refinery strikes are over, Steve Sawyer, director of refining at FGE, said.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.