The volume of crude oil exported by Nigeria to the United States grew by 94,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of the year.
BizWatch Nigeria’s analyses of the data obtained from the United State Energy Information Administration (EIA), showed that this represents 9.57 per cent improvement, compared to the same period in 2020.
The statistics showed that the US imported 1.076 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria in the first quarter of 2021, up from 0.982 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2020.
The data also showed that the US imported 0.576 million barrels/day of crude oil from Nigeria in January 2021, 0.209 million barrels in February and 0.291 million barrels/day in March.
In the previous year, the US imported 0.466 million barrels/day of crude oil from Nigeria in January 2021, 0.277 million barrels in February and 0.239 million barrels/day in March.
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Booming production from shale, similar to Nigeria’s light sweet crude, drastically cut Nigerian exports to the US, which was once the destination for about 40 per cent to 50 per cent of the country’s cargoes.
Following the coronavirus-induced crash in oil prices and demand, Nigeria has been struggling to sell its crude oil cargoes.
Prior to the lockdowns and collapse in crude oil demand caused by coronavirus crisis, the rise of US shale oil was already proving uniquely challenging for Nigeria.
The US imports of Nigerian crude fell from 148.48 million barrels in 2012 to 87.40 million barrels in 2013 on the back of shale oil boom.
In 2014, when global oil prices started to fall from a peak of $115 per barrel, Nigeria saw a further drop in US imports of its crude to 21.24 million barrels.
