W.Africa Crude - High freight rates weigh on crude differentials

Shell

13/10/2026 17:49

LONDON,  Oct 13  (Reuters) - High freight rates were pressuring the West African crude market on Tuesday, with differentials continuing to fall.
Offers for Angolan Dalia were heard at a discount of $20 to dated Brent on the Argus Open Market, a trader said. This was much lower than the discount of $9.95 heard for the grade last week on the Platts platform 
Angolan differentials are under particular pressure because they rely on Asian demand, and surging freight rates have undermined the economics of long-haul shipments
India, a major market for West African crude, imported 5.34 million barrels of crude per day in September, according to data from Kpler — which was a record high — due to the recovery in Middle Eastern flows in that month
Nigeria met its OPEC crude oil production quota for a fifth consecutive month in September, with crude output averaging 1.53 million bpd, data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed
The country's Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which is seeking to raise $1.6 billion in what would be Africa's biggest IPO, swung to a net profit in the first nine months of 2026 as revenue more than doubled, according to unaudited results
In the wider market, Shell SHEL.L said it had signed an agreement to sell its full interest in the Shell Nigeria Gas Group, which operates a domestic gas distribution business in the country, to Vaaris Energy

 (Reporting by Seher Dareen in London. Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((seher.dareen@thomsonreuters.com))