LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Angolan cargoes for June had just
about sold out by Monday, as the programme for July was awaited
by the end of the week with high offering prices again expected
amid tightness in global physical markets.
ANGOLA
* The Angolan programme was expected on Wednesday or shortly
after, with traders keen to see if maintenance was completed on
two main streams which made the June programme unusually short.
* Traders believe prices will meet or exceed offerings for
June, which for most grades reached all-time highs.
* U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have driven up demand
for relatively heavy Angolan grades likes Dalia and Saturno, but
lighter grades are also set to maintain or even increase the
rise of about 50 cents compared to dated Brent that they
experienced in June versus the month before.
* Chinese demand for Angolan was seen rising each month, as
it looks set to comply with sanctions on Iran despite being its
top customer and despite the deterioration in trade talks with
Washington over the weekend. * Demand from Western buyers was also mounting amid high gas
cracks in Europe and the onset of summer driving in the United
States.
NIGERIA
* At least 20 cargoes of June loading crude offered at
relatively elevated prices struggled to find buyers, as likely
customers in Europe sought cheaper barrels closer afield in the
Mediterranean and from Russia.
* A force majeure on the Amenam stream and Bonny Light
streams continued to cause loading delays.
* Major buyer India was heard not to have significantly
stepped up purchases despite having been Iran's number two
customer.
RELATED NEWS
* Crude oil markets in Europe and West Africa are gaining
support from unplanned Russian, Iranian and North Sea supply
losses, and analysts say Brent futures have yet to fully reflect
this. * Oil production spare capacity could fall to under one
percent of global oil demand by the end of the year if OPEC
compensates for falling production from Iran and Venezuela,
leaving oil prices exposed to sharp swings in the event of
unplanned outages, analysts say.