NNPC explained why India abandons Nigeria’s crude oil for Russia’s

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has revealed why India jettisoned Nigerian crude oil.

The Asian country has found its new love with the discounted Russian oil. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine led to a dip in demand and forced Russia to sell at reduced prices.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine led to a dip in demand and forced Russia to sell at reduced prices.

Maryamu Idris, NNPC’s Executive Director of Crude and Condensate disclosed this during a recent panel presentation at the Argus European Crude Conference in London.

She said, “To illustrate the extent of this shift, Nigeria’s crude exports to India dwindled from approximately 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the six months preceding the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine to 194,000 in the subsequent six months afterward. And so far this year, only around 120,000 bpd of Nigerian crude volumes have made their way to India."

Idris, however, said that Nigeria has increased its crude flow to Europe to fill supply gaps left as a result of the ban on Russian crude. Before the war, she stated that 678,000 bpd of Nigerian crude grades went to Europe, adding that this has since increased to 710,000 bpd six months later and 730,000 bpd so far this year. She explained that the trend has underscored the importance of Nigerian crude in the post-war palette of European refiners in a Ripples Nigeria Report.

She added that several Nigerian distillate-rich grades have become a steady preference for many European refiners due to the absence of Russian Urals and diesel.

She said, “Forcados Blend, Escravos Light, Bonga, and Egina appear to be the most popular, and our latest addition – Nembe Crude – fits well into this basket.”

Idris, however, stated that the Nigerian crude output was affected by production challenges.

This, she said, includes reduced investment in the upstream sector, supply chain disruptions, aging oil fields, and oil theft. With the introduction of and implementation of a new framework for the domestic petroleum industry (the PIA of 2021), in addition to re-positioning NNPC Limited to adopt a more commercial approach among other steps taken, Idris said the challenges are getting solved.

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that NNPC may be spending about N843 billion monthly on petrol imports following the halt in oil swaps by the company.

The NNPCL, in another report, said it is working with relevant parties in the reconciliation committee set up by President Bola Tinubu to investigate, review, and reconcile the financial records of alleged indebtedness to the federation.