Export of Nigeria’s crude oil to US hits all time low

Data from the US Energy Information Administration has shown that imports of crude oil by the United States from Nigeria has reached an all time low.

This is believed to be on account of the growing production of Shale oil in the US.

According to the data, the US slashed its import of Nigerian crude to 904,000 barrels and 1.74 million barrels in July and August respectively, down from 7.77 million barrels in June and a peak of 10.33 million barrels in February this year.

Similarly, total imports by the US of crude from Nigeria declined to 45.79 million barrels in the first half of this year from 55.78 million barrels in the same period last year.

Trade in Nigerian crude remained subdued on Thursday as a high volume of unsold cargoes kept buyers reluctant to step in, according to Reuters, while traders estimated that nearly a quarter of the December programme remained available.

Offers for Nigerian Qua Iboe and Bonny Light, two of the nation’s grades, hovered around $1.65 a barrel above dated Brent, down from $1.70 earlier last week.

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It would recalled that the Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Mordecai Ladan, had last week lamented that Nigeria’s most valued crude oil customers have abandoned the country.

It was reported in September that the US Atlantic Coast imports of West African crude oil were expected to decline due to harsh arbitrage conditions made difficult by the large premium of ICE Brent futures over West Texas Intermediate, as well as strong premiums for WAF grades.

According to S&P Global Platts, Traders tracking these grades exported in the US expected WAF imports to the USAC to fall to virtually zero.

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