W.Africa Crude-May overhang depresses Nigerian premiums

http://af.reuters.com/article/chadNews/idAFLDE73A1QY20110411

* Nigerian Qua Iboe slips to dated Brent plus $3.50-$3.90
* India's IOC buys 4 mln bbls for June lifting

LONDON, (Reuters)

Nigerian spot crude oil differentials slipped on Monday as an overhang of unsold cargoes
for May depressed values. India's biggest state-run refiner, Indian Oil Corp (IOC),bought 2 million barrels of Nigerian crude and 2 million barrels of Angolan in a tender. But demand from European buyers has not
yet materialised, traders said, despite tightness in the North Sea oil market. "East coast U.S. refiners are just sitting back at these levels," said one west African crude oil trader. "The market is too toppy for them and the result is that supplies are not moving."

NIGERIA * Qua Iboe: Eight of 13 Qua Iboe cargoes loading in May are
said to be available, including a couple of cargoes now being
reoffered, with the lowest indications from sellers at around
dated Brent plus $3.85 and others around dated plus $4.00.
Potential buyers said they might be interested at around dated
Brent plus $3.50, but no cargoes were reported sold. * Sellers indications of Qua Iboe included Taurus offering its May 19-20 at dated Brent plus $3.85 and Glencore offering its May 26-27 cargo at the same level, as well as Exxon cargoes loading May 28-29 and May 30-31 at dated plus $4.00. * Escravos: reported last traded at around dated plus $3.50 and potential buyers now assessed closer to plus $3.00. Traders said the reported award price for the IOC tender seemed "rich". * Forcados: IOC was said to have paid dated plus $5.45 fob for a June loading cargo, a level considered significantly above
the May fob market by most traders, who assessed May barrels at
around dated Brent plus $4.40 to plus $4.50.

ANGOLA * Few May barrels discussed and only around a week until the

next loading schedules for June are released by Sonangol. * Cabinda: assessed dated minus 50 cents to $1.00 * Girassol: assessed between dated Brent plus $1.20 and plus $1.30 per barrel. * Nemba: notionally dated plus $1.00 to plus $1.10.

TENDERS * India's IOC has bought 4 million barrels of West African

sweet crude for loading in May and June from Vitol, trade

sources said on Monday. IOC bought 1 million barrels of Escravos

at dated Brent plus $4.50 and 1 million of Forcados plus $5.45.

The refiner also bought 2 million barrels of Angolan crude from

state-oil company Sonangol -- 1 million barrels of Kissanje

dated Brent minus 10 cents and 1 million of Palanca dated plus

$2.50.

(Reporting by Christopher Johnson; editing by Alison Birrane)