Those closely following oil shipment data compiled by cargo trackers tell Sputnik that West African (WAF) crude headed for Europe from destinations such as Nigeria, Angola, and the Republic of Congo has spiked in recent months as US-origin West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased in pricing.
The trade sources’ assessments concurred with a media report published on Wednesday, citing cargo tracker Kpler’s findings that US crude exports to Europe slowed to 1.45 million barrels per day last month — the lowest for any month since July 2022.
According to the Kpler report, the volume of European-bound US crude in July was 27% lower than in June and 14% below May levels.
Outside of Europe, WAF and WTI exports are almost at par, trade sources said, although that could change if the US benchmark keeps rising in pricing.
WTI’s pricing went from a December 2023 low of $67.71 to a high of $84.38 on Tuesday.
In terms of global exports, WAF ships around 4.5 million barrels per day, while US crude exports 4.4 million.
WAF, which is typically cheaper than the UK’s North Sea Brent Crude, became more attractive to European buyers in recent months as WTI’s discount to Brent narrowed.
Until a year ago, WTI traded at its typical discount of about $5 per barrel to Brent. By Wednesday’s close, though, the difference was less than $3.50 per barrel, as Brent settled at $87.34 versus $83.88 for WTI.