Sellers of West African crude oil dey struggle to find buyers for cargo wey suppose load up to 26 December and for January, because competition tight from plenty and cheaper alternative supplies, traders and analysts say.

The amount of unsold Nigerian and Angolan crude, analysts say, na symptom of bigger oil market surplus. E push people to sell for international futures market and make Brent crude fall below $60 per barrel — the lowest since May this week.

About 20 million barrels of Nigerian oil for December and January loading still remain unsold by Thursday, two traders talk, while Angola's December–January programmes still get about five to six cargoes available.

E no normal

These cargoes don slow the start of the trading cycle for February cargoes, even though Angola don already release loading schedule and term nominations.

So much unsold oil na unusual, especially for this month, because West African trade cycle normally dey closer to two months ahead. Estimates for both countries' overhang reach as high as 40 million barrels earlier this week.

Supplies from the Middle East dey displace medium and heavy West African grades for Asia, as lowered official selling prices for January and shorter voyages give those grades competitive edge, analysts say.

Imports don reduce

India's oil imports from Russia still dey resilient despite tightening Western sanctions, and that dey displace medium‑heavy density West African crudes, while light to medium‑density West African grades dey struggle to compete with supplies from Argentina and Brazil, two traders say.

Nigeria also don dey market more oil because Africa's largest refinery, the 650,000 barrels‑per‑day Dangote plant, don reduce imports and e go undergo maintenance in January, Kpler's Grabenwoger say.