The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has revealed that the war between Russia and Ukraine has had a significant impact on Nigeria’s crude oil inflows in the global oil market. The conflict has reduced the demand from the Asian market, especially in the early stages of the hostilities, and caused India to shift its preference to cheaper Russian oil.
Maryamu Idris, the Executive Director of Crude & Condensate at NNPC Trading Limited, made this disclosure at the Argus European Crude Conference in London. She said that the war has triggered major price shocks in the global commodity and energy markets, affecting Nigeria’s crude oil exports.
According to Idris, Nigeria’s crude exports to India, a major buyer of Nigerian oil, dropped from about 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to 194,000 bpd in the next six months. This year, only around 120,000 bpd of Nigerian crude volumes have been exported to India.
On the other hand, Idris noted that Nigeria’s crude oil exports to Europe have increased to fill the supply gaps created by the ban on Russian crude. She said that Nigeria exported 678,000 bpd of crude grades to Europe before the war, which rose to 710,000 bpd six months later and reached 730,000 bpd this year.
She stressed the importance of Nigerian grades in the European refining market, saying that many European refiners have opted for Nigerian distillate-rich grades, such as Forcados Blend, Escravos Light, Bonga, Egina, and Nembe Crude, in the absence of Russian Urals and diesel.
She also announced the launch of the Nembe Crude grade, a new addition to the Nigerian crude basket, at the conference in London. She said that the Nembe Crude grade has gained popularity among European refiners and that London was the ideal place to introduce it to the global market.
