Nigerian and Angolan crude differentials were steady on Wednesday as traders awaited developments regarding Bonny oil loadings following an explosion on the Trans Niger pipeline on Monday, while Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery continues to diversify its crude supply.

Force majeure had not been declared on loadings of Bonny Light by the time of publication on Wednesday, according to two crude oil trading sources.

Loadings of Bonny crude have so far continued from storage, one source added.

Nigeria’s Trans Niger Pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal, was shut after a blast that caused a fire, police said on Tuesday.

Price differentials for other, competing West African crudes were yet to respond to the explosion on the pipeline, as market participants are waiting for further clarity on the extent of the damage and the possible length of any disruptions, a source added.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in oil-producing Rivers State and suspended the state governor, his deputy and all lawmakers.

Elsewhere in Nigeria, the new 650,000 barrel per day capacity Dangote refinery is set to receive cargoes of Angolan Pazflor, Brazilian Buzios and Algerian Saharan Blend crudes in March, according to Kpler data.

Prior to that, the refinery had only taken non-Nigerian crude in the form of U.S. WTI, and one Angolan cargo in January, the data shows.

On Wednesday, the Dangote Refinery announced that it was temporarily suspending fuel sales in the local naira currency to avoid a mismatch between sales in naira and purchases of crude in dollars.

Also, Vitol announced it will buy stakes in West African oil and gas assets from Italy’s Eni on Wednesday.
Source: Reuters