Nigeria struggles to find buyers for over 30 million barrels of crude oil

• FG Insists 1.78m bpd Oil Production Feasible Despite Glitch

Nigeria may struggle to find buyers for its crude oil as about 30 out of 53 cargoes loading for May are stranded. This is coming despite the low production currently being experienced in the country as Angola has overtaken Nigeria as the leading crude oil producer and Bloomberg data showed that the unsold cargoes could be above 30 million barrels.

While Nigeria’s grade of crude is one of the best in the world, refinery maintenance and serious competition are reportedly frustrating the market for Nigeria.

While Nigeria is struggling to sell, Angola is making headway with most of its cargo heading to India. While India was Nigeria’s biggest crude oil buyer, the National Bureau of Statistics last year showed that the Netherlands bought Nigerian crude oil worth N2.5 trillion in the first nine months of 2023, while India’s imports from Africa’s top producer were valued at N1.6 trillion.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has said raising the country’s dismal oil production to the 2024 budget benchmark of 1.78 million barrels per day is realistic.

Reacting to the declining oil production in March, Lokpobiri said measures were being taken to address the situation and restore production to previous levels.

He said the prevailing production shortfall was primarily due to issues encountered on the Trans Niger Pipeline, coupled with maintenance activities carried out by Shell.

“However, I am pleased to announce that these issues have been promptly addressed, and production is expected to return to its previous levels in the coming days. We anticipate that Nigeria’s oil production, including condensate, which was approximately 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) prior to these developments, will soon be restored.

“Furthermore, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources is actively engaged in policy evolution aimed at maximising the utilisation of all available wells in Nigeria. This strategic approach will enable us to ramp up production, thereby generating vital revenue to stabilise our foreign exchange reserves.

“The increased revenue will also empower the government to fulfil its commitments in providing essential infrastructure, as outlined in the budget,” Lokpobiri said in a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Nneamaka Okafor.

Nigeria may struggle to find buyers for its crude oil as about 30 out of 53 cargoes loading for May are stranded. This is coming despite the low production currently being experienced in the country as Angola
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), says it is not recruiting and has cautioned potential job seekers against falling victims to scammers.
NIPCO Plc says it has completed four Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in Lagos, set for inauguration by May.
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has seized three shipping containers of 3000 cartons of pirated books with a conservative market value of over N300 million.
Between 10 and 15 civilians were killed in weekend attacks in the Beni region in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in new attacks blamed on ADF rebels affiliated with Islamic State, local sources said on Sunday.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), on Saturday demanded the release of the remaining Chibok girls from captivity 10 years after.
The National Coordinator, Financing Safe Schools Initiative, Mrs Halima Iliya, says plans are underway to actively engage hunters and vigilantes on intelligence gathering to curb attacks on schools across the country.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, has said that the erstwhile fuel subsidy was a monster which had deprived Nigerians of a myriad of social amenities.
The Nigerian Army Joint Task Force, Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) in North-West has neutralised 12 bandists, recovered weapons, AK-47 rifle, 1 magazine and 2 rounds of 7.62mm and 18 cows.
Nigeria may struggle to find buyers for its crude oil as about 30 out of 53 cargoes loading for May are stranded. This is coming despite the low production currently being experienced in the country as Angola
The country’s manufacturing sector has further suffered more setbacks as one of its biggest players, Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc, has suspended operations in two of its nine breweries.