Europe mops up supplies

摘要

The sale of more than 30mn bl of light sweet crude from US strategic stocks has depressed US demand for light sweet Nigerian supplies, forcing sellers to look for alternative outlets. Nigerian Bonny Light's premium to North Sea Forties crude has fallen, opening the arbitrage to move more Nigerian crude to Europe (see upper graph). A balanced Asian naphtha market is making Mideast Gulf sellers look west to the more inviting European market, where demand for naphtha for gasoline-blending is picking up (see lower graph). At least four cargoes, or 1.8mn bl, have been booked from the Mideast Gulf and Red Sea to move west in late July and early August. Two of the four cargoes have been booked with options to travel east or west.