LONDON: Offers for some varieties of West African crude climbed on Thursday on relatively high refining margins in Europe as demand from South Asia remained robust despite more buying of Russian crude there.

Offers for Nigerian Qua Iboe crude hit dated Brent plus about $3.50 a barrel, up by about 50 cents in a little over a week.

Ghanaian Jubilee crude, also suitable for refining into gasoline, was offered at around dated Brent plus $1.30 a barrel. India’s IOC awarded its latest tender to ExxonMobil for cargoes of Nigerian Usan and Akpo crude.

Traders were still waiting for March export plans for Bonny Light crude, as the stream has endured weeks of loading delays related to pipeline issues. Angola’s state firm Sonangol last offered three March spot cargoes of Mostarda, Kissanje and Girassol at dated Brent minus $2.80, plus 40 cents and plus $1.70 respectively.

Protests against French government plans to raise the retirement age had a muted impact on the energy sector on Thursday, the first day of 48-hour strikes, lowering hydropower output and curbing some refinery deliveries.

Qatar is in talks to acquire a stake from TotalEnergies’ $27 billion cluster of energy projects in Iraq, three sources told Reuters, as Baghdad hopes to stem efforts by Western energy companies to exit the country.