West African crude oil market held steady on Monday while shipping rates have eased. The market was very quiet, a trader said, while freight rates had eased.
A jump in freight costs had been weighing on the market earlier, although levels for key WAF routes have eased in recent days according to Riverlake data.
In broader news, NNPC, the state-owned energy company of top African oil producer Nigeria, plans to sell stakes in some of its oil and gas assets and has called for bids, according to an invitation document seen by Reuters on Monday.
The document did not disclose how much it aims to raise or the size of the stakes on offer, and NNPC did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Bashir Ojulari, Group CEO of NNPC, on Sunday highlighted that the company's oil output is expected to rise to 1.8 million barrels per day in 2026, up from about 1.7 million this year, while gas production will continue to climb.
He credited structural reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act for enabling NNPC to operate as a profit-driven company, no longer reliant on federal allocations.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)