Crude oil price weighed down by weak demand

Crude oil price differentials for Nigeria stayed under pressure, Friday, having fallen this week, weighed down by weak demand from large Asian buyers.
Nigeria’s largest stream, Qua Iboe, was assessed at its lowest premium to dated Brent in two years. Refining margins in Europe and Asia have been weak, curbing non-essential buying interest, say traders. “Margins and cracks have improved, but it does not seem to changed things very much,” said one.

W. Africa Crude-Sagging demand keeps differentials weak

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Nigerian crude oil cargoes
failed to attract much interest from buyers on Monday, traders
said, with expectations that differentials will fall further
keeping activity thin. 
    There were still around seven cargoes due to load in August
available on top of more than 50 for July, a trader said. 
    Slack demand from European refiners that have cut runs due
to lower margins has hit demand, while sharper drops in
differentials in crudes from other regions have limited demand
from Asia and elsewhere. 

Shell Nigeria Declares Force Majeure on Forcados Oil Exports

IBADAN, Nigeria--Royal Dutch Shell PLC's (RDSA, RDSA.LN) Nigerian unit said Tuesday it has declared force majeure on the shipping of the Forcados oil blend from Nigeria after it shut an export pipeline due to a leak.

Crude above $101 a barrel on higher than expected US GDP; supply worries

The price of oil advanced past US$101 a barrel Thursday following an upward revision to U.S. growth figures and ongoing concerns about tight supplies.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose $1.02 to close at US$101.28 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is the highest closing price in three weeks. On Wednesday, oil jumped $1.07 to close at US$100.26.

Chevron Is Said to Seek Buyers for $1 Billion in U.S. Assets

Chevron Corp. (CVX) is seeking to sell pipeline and storage operations in Texas and Louisiana that together may fetch more than $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Chevron is working with Jefferies Group LLC to find buyers for at least four natural gas and crude oil pipeline operations, said two of the people, who asked not to be named because the process is private. The San Ramon, California-based company began sending out offering materials this week, the people said.

Ezekwesili Challenges Okonjo-Iweala to Account for 'Missing' U.S.$10.8 Billion' Oil Money - PREMIUM TIMES

Former Vice President of the World Bank, Oby Ezekwesili, has taken the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to task over the sloppy manner the government has handled the issue of the 'missing' $49.8billion oil money.  The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, had, in a memo to President Goodluck Jonathan accused the NNPC of diverting huge oil revenue that should be paid to the federation account.

Could the U.S. Export Crude Oil? It's Time to Rethink the Unthinkable

The four-decade ban on domestic crude exports was originally codified because the U.S. wanted greater energy security during the 1973 Arab oil embargo. The ban was unquestioned until recently, when lawmakers started to consider the unthinkable: that the U.S. may repeal the export ban on crude oil.

BRENT CRUDE OIL FUTURES RISE BY MORE THAN $1 PER BARREL

BRENT CRUDE OIL FUTURES RISE BY MORE THAN $1 PER BARREL