United States oil import from Nigeria drops to 4.7 mb

African nation’s total petroleum sales decline to 59.3mb in May

The United States (U.S.) crude oil import from Nigeria has declined from the 10.125 million barrels it recorded in April to 4.755 million barrels in May.This is because, the U.S. has also begun exporting crude oil to other countries since the removal of restrictions.

Emphatically, the number of countries receiving exported U.S. crude oil has risen since its removal in December 2015. Statistics from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) revealed that India with 7.7 million barrels (mb); Spain, 4.5mb; Netherland, 5.1mb were the biggest importers of the country’s crude oil in May this year.

Nigeria’s crude oil export also decreased from the 66.584 mb it recorded in April to 59.354mb in May.The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a media statement yesterday, that crude oil exports have occurred despite relatively small price spreads between international and domestic crude oils, as well as other factors that should reduce crude oil exports such as, falling U.S. crude oil production and added cargo export costs.

Based on the latest available data, U.S. crude oil exports averaged 501,000 barrels per day (b/d) in the first five months of 2016, 43,000 barrel per day more than the full-year 2015 daily average.

U.S. exports of crude oil had already increased significantly before the lifting of crude oil export restrictions, according to EIA.It stated: “These exports were mostly to Canada, which was excluded from the previous restrictions. From 2000 to 2013, U.S. exports rarely surpassed 100,000 bpd. By 2015, the United States was exporting 422,000 bpd to Canada and a total of 26,000 bpd to five other countries.

“In recent years, crude oil exports to destinations other than Canada were often re-exported volumes of foreign crude oil or cargoes of Alaskan crude oil, which were both exempt from export restrictions. As discussed in the August 10 This Week in Petroleum, the number and variety of destinations for U.S. crude oil exports has increased since the lifting of restrictions. So far in 2016, U.S. crude oil has been exported to 16 different nations, totaling 501,000 bpd.”

EIA said that U.S. crude oil exports to countries other than Canada have surpassed exports to Canada in two months in 2016. In March, total crude oil exports to countries other than Canada reached 259,000 b/d, or 10,000 bpd more than crude oil exports to Canada.

It noted that in May, total U.S. crude oil exports to countries other than Canada reached 354,000 bpd, 46,000 bpd more than crude oil exports to Canada.EIA disclosed that other than Canada, the largest and most consistent U.S. crude oil export destination for the first five months of 2016 has been Curacao, an island nation located in the Caribbean Sea north of Venezuela.

“U.S. crude oil exports to Curacao averaged 54,000 bpd through May. Petróleos de Venezuela, the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, operates the 330,000 bpd Isla refinery on Curacao, as well as crude and petroleum product storage facilities on the island,” it added.