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Low European prices drive West African fuel imports to tape

West Africa is set to get a record 730,000 barrels daily (bpd) of fuel from Europe this month, preliminary figures from data analytics firm Kpler program, as importers benefited from relatively low European rates.

February's imports, if they totally materialise, would be over 70% higher than January's, and the most given that Kpler started tracking exports on the path in early 2017. The shipments are mainly destined for Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.

Europe produces more gas than it consumes. As a result, the area is a major provider to West Africa. It also exports To the United States, the world's leading fuel consumer high U.S. inventories and lower U.S. demand in January assisted to depress the rate of European fuel.

The spread in between Eurobob gas barges << EUROBOB-ARA > and Brent crude futures fell to a two-month low of around $ 6.70 a barrel in early January, LSEG information showed, although it has recovered,

Till the start of February, European fuel was pricing especially cheaply versus counterparts in the U.S. and Asia, Sparta Commodities analyst Philip Jones-Lux said.

However with the European gasoline market getting highly Far in February, we 'd expect to see this circulation sluggish once again in March.

Low-cost naphtha was also an element after Red Sea shipping disturbances suggested naphtha produced in Europe that would usually go to Asia Pacific remained in the region.

Naphtha can be combined directly into fuel or upgraded to make blendstocks used to create the right octane spec.

The Kpler figures likewise show imports to West Africa from the Netherlands, home to Europe's largest refinery, in February reached nearly 140,000 bpd, their highest given that April 2023.

In 2015 Dutch exports diminished after Dutch authorities tightened policies on the quality of fuel exports.

Belgium, which represented the most significant share of deliveries in February, is anticipated to embrace comparable restrictions this year, which traders and analyst say they expect to reduce its exports to West Africa.

The start-up of the long-delayed Dangote oil refinery in Nigeria is likewise expected to lower Africa's appetite to import European products. In the meantime, it is still in testing stage.

(source: Reuters)