Nigerian crude grades are failing to attract buyers from Europe, China and India as traders, to cut cost, shift to a blend of WTI (the main oil benchmark for North America) and Brazilian grades as a substitute for the country’s highly sought-after sweet crude.
Top crude grades of Africa’s biggest oil producer, Bonny Light, Forcados and Brass, have a reputation for being light in sulphur, a quality that has made them the darling of refineries in Europe and Asia.
But traders are flocking to the Urals crude blend because they see the Nigerian grades as relatively pricey, with traders reluctant to offload the country’s cargoes, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.
