W.Africa Crude - NNPC offers September cargoes

LONDON, August 3 (Reuters) - West African crude differentials were stable on Monday as traders digested spot tender offers from NNPC for September crude cargoes.

• NNPC is offering a 950,000-barrel Cawthorne cargo loading on September 21 to 22, and a 950,000-barrel cargo of Bonny Light loading between September 30 and October 1, according to a tender document seen by Reuters. All bids are due by 8 p.m. West Africa Time (1700 GMT) on Tuesday.
• Around 20 West African crude cargoes for August loading remained unsold, a trader told Reuters on Thursday, despite offers surfacing for September cargoes.
• On Friday, Nigerian Qua Iboe for loading between September 6 and September 7 was offered at dated Brent plus $6.00, a trader said.
• Sellers of West African grades began to raise offer levels in recent sessions amid growing supply disruptions in the Middle East, traders told Reuters, but trading activity has been muted as market participants await further clarity on the volatile situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
• India's IOC has stepped up purchases of West African and Latin American crudes to make up for the supply disruptions in the Middle East, the company's head of finance Anuj Jain said on Saturday.
• In upstream news, Nigeria-focused crude producer Sahara Upstream has deployed a new 380,000-barrel tanker to support exports from the OML 18 block, as domestic operators invest in infrastructure and help Africa's biggest oil producer increase output and exports.
• Nigeria aims to replace regulated domestic gas pricing with a market-driven system within the next one to two years as infrastructure improves and competition deepens, the country's downstream oil and gas regulator said on Monday.