ABUJA: Despite United States’ refusal to import crude oil from Nigeria due to its shale boom, the country exported 2.05 million bpd of crude oil and condensate to Europe and India in 2014.
The United States traditionally had been the largest importer of Nigerian oil until the last few years. It changed from being the largest importer of Nigerian oil in 2012 to the 10th largest in 2014.
India is now the largest importer of Nigeria’s oil, purchasing about 370,000 bpd or 18 per cent of Nigeria’s total crude exports in 2014.
The International Energy Information Administration (IEA), in its 2015 report on Nigeria oil and gas sector, stated that Europe continued to be the largest-regional importer of Nigerian oil, importing slightly more than 900,000 bblpd or 45 per cent of the exports in 2014.
According to the report, the United States typically imported between nine per cent and 11 per cent of its crude oil from Nigeria before 2012. However, this share has fallen, and in 2014, U.S. imports of Nigerian crude oil accounted for less than one per cent of total U.S. crude oil imports.
It stated that Nigeria in the past has been an important oil supplier to the United States, but the absolute volume and the share of U.S. imports from Nigeria have fallen substantially. “The United States imported an average 60,000 bpd of crude oil from Nigeria for the first 11 months of 2014, the lowest amount since the United States started importing Nigerian crude in 1973 and more than a 90 per cent drop from the average volume imported in 2010.
“As a result, Nigeria fell from being the 5th-largest foreign oil supplier to the United States in 2011 (accounting for nine per cent of U.S. crude imports) to the 10th in 2014 (accounting for less than one per cent of U.S. crude imports). The growth in U.S. light, sweet crude oil production from the Bakken and Eagle Ford has resulted in a sizable decline in U.S. imports of crude grades of similar quality, such as Nigeria’s crude oil.
“As U.S. imports of Nigerian oil decreased over the past few years, European imports increased. European imports of Nigerian crude and condensate increased year-over-year by more than 40 per cent in 2011 and by 30 per cent in 2012, making Europe the largest regional importer of Nigerian oil by far. The European embargo on Iranian crude imports and sporadic supply disruptions in Libya contributed to Europe’s increased oil imports from Nigeria”, it said.
According to the report, natural gas production is constrained by the lack of infrastructure to monetize natural gas that is currently being flared.
“Natural gas production is constrained by the lack of infrastructure to monetize natural gas that is currently being flared. Most natural gas reserves are located in the Niger Delta. The natural gas industry is also affected by the same security and regulatory issues that affect the oil industry.
“As a result, the plant’s closure led to a reduction in Nigeria’s natural gas production, particularly from Shell’s fields in the Niger Delta, and a decline in LNG exports in 2009. Natural gas production gradually grew after 2009, and it reached its highest level of 1.5 Tcf in 2012. In 2013, production fell by 10% to 1.35 Tcf because of supply disruptions and a temporary blockade on Nigeria’s LNG shipments, which also led to a corresponding fall in exports and, to a lesser extent, domestic consumption. Nigeria consumed 490 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of dry natural gas in 2013, about 36 per cent of its production.
