US Surpasses Nigeria as Top Oil Exporting Nation

• US Surpasses Nigeria as Top Oil Exporting Nation

The United States has finally surpassed Nigeria as a top oil exporting nation after lifting its 40-year ban on crude oil exports just three years ago.

The U.S increased its oil exports from 1.118 million barrels per day in 2017 to 2.002 mbpd in 2018, making the world’s largest economy the seventh biggest exporter of crude oil.

This put the US ahead of Nigeria that saw its exports drop from 1.979 mbpd in 2017 to 1.811 mbpd in 2018.

It also toppled embattled Venezuela, Angola, Kazakhstan, Norway, Mexico and Brazil.

In recent years, the US has reduced its Nigerian crude oil import substantially.

In the first quarter of 2019, the North American country imported 9.599 million barrels, down from 15.879 mb imported in the same period of 2018, the US Energy Information Administration reported.

US increased exports to Western Europe and Asia in 2018, according to OPEC.

“From a regional perspective, historically, Canada used to be the main export destination of US crude oil. However, after the lifting of the ban, Western Europe and particularly Asia have become top destinations of US crude oil exports,” OPEC said.

This increase weighed on Nigerian crude exports to countries like India, Nigeria’s largest importer in recent months, and Netherland.

Nigeria’s oil exports to Asia and Pacific dropped from 512,600 barrel per day in 2017 to 387,200 bpd in 2018.

The US has now cut down on its global crude oil import from 7.966 million barrel per day in 2017 to 7.756 million bpd in 2018.