India’s international oil company, KBC, has booked several grades of Angolan crude for July, including Cabinda and Girassol, as its favoured Nigerian Qua Iboe crude oil was under force majeure.
“People want stable supply. And Angolan crude is in general very reliable. There are no fears about force majeure,” said Ehsan Ul-Haq, a principal consultant with KBC.
China’s buying has also skewed toward Angolan grades, though state-backed refining company Unipec and teapot refiners typically process heavier crudes than India.
Indonesian buying also returned in force, with Pertamina taking four cargoes, including those booked by Total, Shell and Socar.
All the buyers recoil in buying Nigerian oil is as a result of the force majeure declared by two oil multi-nationals, Shell Nigeria and Exxon Mobil, in two of Nigeria’s oil field.
Also the security threats in the Niger Delta have aided the rise in demand for Angolan oil from China and India, Nigeria’s major crude buyers for July.
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