W.Africa Crude- Differentials remain under pressure

Eni SpA

27/04/2026 17:29

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LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials on Monday were weighed on by traders opting for cheaper grades as the market shifted from scrambling for crude to paying a fair price for barrels.

Eni sold a cargo of Angolan grade Nemba with May 26-27 loading dates at dated Brent minus $4.60 a barrel on the Platts window on Monday, weaker than the offer of dated Brent minus 55 cents on Friday.

BP withdrew its offer for a cargo of Plutonio with June 4-5 loading dates at dated Brent plus 35 cents, lower than the plus $2.50 it had offered on Friday.

"The market is now expected to become more selective...the immediate impact should be felt in Angolan medium sours and LatAm grades, which had been key replacements for Middle East Gulf barrels, and are now most exposed to weaker incremental demand," Kpler analyst Fred Asideu said in a note.

Russian and Iranian crude was being offered cheaper than before, a source said last week, which was leading to more demand for those grades over West African ones.

The market had started to focus on economics-driven selectivity, one trader said, with differentials coming off meaning that substitution premiums particularly in some West African and LatAm grades looked "vulnerable to correction."

An offer for Angolan Girassol moving down from plus $8 to dated Brent to plus $7.40 was consistent with that sentiment, he added.

Another trader highlighted that substitutes for U.S. West Texas Intermediate like the Nigerian Akpo and Agbami were also under pressure.

Meanwhile, exports of four key Nigerian crude oil grades - Bonga, Bonny Light, Forcados and Qua Iboe - are scheduled at 827,000 barrels per day in June, preliminary loading programmes seen by Reuters show an uptick of 2.5% from May.

 (Reporting by Seher Dareen in London; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

 ((seher.dareen@thomsonreuters.com))