W.Africa Crude - High freight rates weigh on crude differentials 

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - High freight rates were pressuring the West African crude market on Tuesday, with differentials continuing to fall.

• Offers for Angolan Dalia were heard at a discount of $20 to dated Brent on the Argus Open Market, a trader said. This was much lower than the discount of $9.95 heard for the grade last week on the Platts platform

• Angolan differentials are under particular pressure because they rely on Asian demand, and surging freight rates have undermined the economics of long-haul shipments

• India, a major market for West African crude, imported 5.34 million barrels of crude per day in September, according to data from Kpler — which was a record high — due to the recovery in Middle Eastern flows in that month

• Nigeria met its OPEC crude oil production quota for a fifth consecutive month in September, with crude output averaging 1.53 million bpd, data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed

• The country's Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which is seeking to raise $1.6 billion in what would be Africa's biggest IPO, swung to a net profit in the first nine months of 2026 as revenue more than doubled, according to unaudited results

• In the wider market, Shell SHEL.L said it had signed an agreement to sell its full interest in the Shell Nigeria Gas Group, which operates a domestic gas distribution business in the country, to Vaaris Energy