US Reduces Nigerian Crude Imports

• US Reduces Nigerian Crude Imports

The United States of America reduced its importation of Nigerian crude oil by 43 per cent in 2018, the Energy Information Administration has revealed.

The world’s largest economy imported 64.06 million barrels from Nigeria in 2018, down from a five-year high of 112.92 million barrels it imported in 2017.

US imports of Nigerian crude started falling after the U.S up its crude production to 12 million barrels per day and lifted the export restriction.

Currently, the U.S is exporting more crude oil to the United Kingdom than other nations including Nigeria for the first time since it started shipping abroad in 2015.

Data showed the US supplied one in every four barrels of crude oil processed by UK refineries in January, about 264,000 barrels per day. Indicating the huge leap in US global exports and highlighted more reasons nations like Nigeria, Angola, Lybia etc may struggle to sell their crude going forward.

In December, the US exported a record high of 558,000 barrels of crude oil per day to South Korea, making South Korea the second destination for US crude behind Canada.

The US is exporting more crude oil to emerging markets, South East Asia, where Nigeria sells most of her crude production. Leading experts to think Nigeria and other crude oil producing nations without a structured contract in place may struggle to sell their oil going forward.