As oil prices steadies at above $50, latest revelation from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the Energy Department, has shown that the country bought a record 10.24 million barrels from Nigeria in March this year, the highest monthly import since July 2013.
Otherwise, it imported 9.78 million barrels in January; 5.96 million barrels in February; 9.16 million barrels in April; 8.69 million barrels in May and 8.53 million barrels in June.
Bonny Light, Nigeria’s main export grade, averaging $51 per barrel in the first half of the year, the 52.36 million barrels imported by the US translate to an income of about $2.67bn for the country.
The report indicated that US almost tripled the volume of crude oil bought from Nigeria last year, with the biggest monthly import of 8.43 million barrels in July. It imported 76.9 million barrels of Nigeria’s oil in 2016, up from 19.9 million barrels in 2015.
Business Hilights recalls that Nigeria observed a significant reduction in the US imports of its crude in recent years, starting from 2012, following the shale oil production exploration.
