* Nigerian Qua Iboe holds firm around dated Brent plus $1.50
* Indian buying tender keeps light, sweet grades supported
* Almost all Angolan cargoes for September reported placed
LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - West African crude oil prices were
stable on Friday with an increasingly limited number of
September cargoes facing steady demand from both eastern and
western buyers.
India's largest refiner, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC),
has a buying tender open that is likely to take around 4 million
barrels of light, sweet crude for loading at the end of
September or in the first half of October.
This has underpinned differentials for suitable Nigerian
crudes such as benchmark Qua Iboe, and helped push up levels by
around 20 cents this week.
"Cargoes are being held back for Monday's (IOC) tender,"
said one trader at a large European refiner. "They will probably
take four cargoes, but it could even be slightly more."
NIGERIA
* More than 15 of the 62 Nigerian crude oil cargoes due to
lift in September werre reported unplaced, including several of
the marker grades Qua Iboe, Bonny Light and Agbami.
* Qua Iboe: valued at around dated Brent plus $1.50 for
September, traders said, with two or three cargoes said sold at
around this level over the last 10 days.
ANGOLA
* Almost all of the 49 Angolan crude cargoes scheduled to
load in September were reported sold.
* Girassol: one cargo still unplaced, with selling
indications at around dated Brent plus 50 cents, but potential
buyers around 20 cents lower.
* Nemba: one cargo reported indicated as low as dated Brent
minus $1.00, but potential bids even lower, closer to minus
$1.50.
TENDERS
* Indian Oil Corp. has open a tender for light, sweet crude
oil grades loading Oct. 1-15, into which late September barrels
may also be sold. Grade offers for the tender were submitted by
Friday, with price offers due by Aug. 6 and an award should be
made on Aug. 7, traders said.
* The Indian refiner had bought four cargoes of Nigerian
crude for loading in September in its tender last week.
DATABASE
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