Nigeria struggles to find buyers for October oil exports

(Bloomberg) --Nigeria has sent a signal that the recovery in global oil demand still has some way to go, with volumes for next month’s loading struggling to find a home, even among its main customers.

As much as two-thirds of Nigeria’s crude for October export has yet to find buyers, according to traders specializing in the West African market. That’s enough to fill 30 Suezmax tankers, each carrying 1 million barrels of oil.

Indian Oil Corp. -- Asia’s biggest buyer of Nigerian crude from the region -- has disappointed the market for a second week, compounding already sluggish sales to Europe, the producer’s other main market, the people said. Earnings for ships hauling West African oil to that region are at the lowest level in a month.

The state oil refining giant purchased just 2 million barrels of Nigerian oil in its latest tender, after a 1-million-barrel buy the previous week. IOC typically bought as much as 20 million barrels of West African crude per month before the pandemic.