W.Africa Crude - Market participants assess tender activity

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals

13/08/2026 17:43

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - West African crude oil differentials were broadly steady in the spot market on Thursday as traders assessed a recent wave of buy tenders from Asian refiners.   
Asian refiners are picking up West African cargoes early in the trade cycle as concerns around the Strait of Hormuz push them towards alternatives to Middle East grades.   
Indian state-run refiner MRPL was the latest to issue a tender, seeking 2 million barrels of crude for October 10-20 delivery.
MRPL stipulated that prospective sellers should avoid using either the Red Sea or Strait of Hormuz. That tender closed on August 13 but results were slow to emerge.    
The spot market for West African grades has been mostly quiet this week, sources told Reuters.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey
Editing by David Goodman
)
((robert.harvey@thomsonreuters.com))