As the trade in West African crude picked up this past week, the Ukraine crisis continued to shake up trading patterns. More Angolan and Nigerian crude has headed to Europe at record prices, with less West African fare heading to markets in Asia where cheap Russian barrels have been displacing other crudes. Angola, which has been exporting around 1.1 million barrels per day in recent months, normally sends 65 to 70 of its exports to China, according to Energy Intelligence estimates. That includes up to 10 contracts for some 300,000 b/d that fall under debt-linked arrangements with big Chinese traders Sinochem and Unipec. Nigeria, which has been exporting around 1.4 million b/d of crude and condensate in recent months, generally sends just over 20 of its cargoes to India-mainly through buyer tenders-but Europe is Nigeria's main destination.
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