W.Africa Crude - Poor demand weighs down markets
LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials were steady on the day on Wednesday but broadly remained under pressure from weak demand in Asia and plentiful competing supplies from other regions.
On Tuesday, TotalEnergies had offered a July 27-28 Djeno cargo at dated Brent minus $14 in the Platts window before withdrawing.
No offers were tabled in the Platts window on Wednesday, a trader said.
Until China picks up buying prices could continue to slide, as demand for cargoes such as the Djeno shown in the Platts window would be unlikely to surface from other regions, a trader said on Tuesday.
China's crude imports were around 5.78 million barrels per day in June, according to data from analytics firm Kpler, down from 6.8 million bpd in May and 10.74 million bpd in June 2025.
Angolan and Nigerian sellers could struggle to clear supplies in the current market given plentiful supply and weak demand, another trader said on Wednesday.
With Asian demand lower, supplies from West Africa are competing with Middle East, Latin American, U.S. and local grades in Europe.
West African crudes are also facing competition in their home region: Nigeria's Dangote refinery has purchased 2 million barrels of UAE crude, traders told Reuters.
Several nonprofits including Friends of the Earth France sued oil major TotalEnergies in a French civil court on Wednesday, seeking to obtain environmental documents related to an onshore Nigerian oil asset it is attempting to sell.
