Babajide Okeowo
The United States has ordered for Nigerian crude oil after thirteen months of shoving the country aside due to the shale boom.
This is because US refiners have started importing from other suppliers following the US sanctions that restricted countries like Iran and Venezuela.
The country is also preparing for peak driving season and would be needing more supplies. Again, the US refiners are rounding up spring maintenance and preparing for vacation which usually required more demand for gasoline.
Nigeria, Iraq, Brazil, and Angola will now fill the gap this month, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
May imports from these countries will more than double that of April, at about 1.23 million barrels per day (bpd).
Nigeria and Angola will deliver a combined 420,000 bpd this month, the highest in 13 months. Another 206,000 bpd of Brazilian crude will land in the U.S in May, the most since August.
Cargoes from Iraq are 11 tankers with about 600,000 bpd of crude, the most from that country in a year, Refinitiv data showed.
READ ALSO: Price of beer may go up soon- Nigerian Breweries
There have been reduced supply from Venezuela and Iran due to U.S. sanctions, coupled with low OPEC production.
Four tankers will deliver a combined 95,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Iraq, Nigeria, and Brazil to Chevron Corp’s Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery, according to Refinitiv data.
Two tankers, the Leontios H, with about 500,000 barrels of heavy crude from Brazil, and the Richmond Voyager, with 1 million barrels of Iraq’s medium sour Basrah Light, discharged at Pascagoula last week. The Cap Felix, with 1 million barrels of medium crude from Nigeria, and Myrtos, with 500,000 barrels of Brazilian crude, are scheduled to arrive this month, the data showed.
Three tankers chartered by Valero Energy Corp, the New Courage, the New Energy and the Pantariste, arrive this month in Louisiana, Texas, and California with 187,000 bpd of Iraq’s Basrah Light.
