The United States exported more crude oil to Nigeria than it imported in February and March 2024.
- The U.S. exported more crude oil to Nigeria than it imported in February and March 2024 for the first time.
- This trade reversal was influenced by reduced U.S. East Coast refinery demand and Nigeria’s operational Dangote refinery.
- The Dangote Refinery, costing $20 billion, has a daily processing capacity of 650,000 barrels, disrupting global oil trade.
The United States exported more crude oil to Nigeria than it imported in February and March 2024, marking the first time such a trade reversal has occurred, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The shift was driven by a slowdown in demand along the U.S. East Coast due to refinery maintenance, as well as rising demand from Nigeria’s newly operational Dangote refinery, Reuters reported.
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Dangote refinery disrupts traditional oil flows
Since commencing operations in 2024, the $20 billion Dangote Refinery, the largest in Africa with a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, has significantly disrupted the oil market and is even projected to end the decades-long gasoline trade from Europe to Africa, a market valued at $17 billion annually.
Gross U.S. crude exports to Nigeria reached 111,000 barrels per day (b/d) in February and 169,000 b/d in March, while imports fell to 54,000 b/d and 72,000 b/d in the same months, respectively. By comparison, imports stood at 133,000 b/d in January.
The decline in U.S. crude imports from Nigeria was also linked to seasonal maintenance at the Phillips 66 Bayway refinery in New Jersey.
Imports from Nigeria have since risen following the Bayway plant’s return to full operations in April, while Dangote’s output was temporarily slowed by unplanned maintenance.
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Analysts caution against reading the data as a long-term trend. “The new refinery in Nigeria and some issues in securing domestic supplies played a role for those unique flows earlier this year,” said Eli Tesfaye, senior strategist at RJO Futures.
UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo added: “The new refinery in Nigeria and some issues in securing domestic supplies played a role for those unique flows earlier this year. But going forward, with the refinery now aiming to secure domestic flows, and probably looking at other crude grades, it is difficult to forecast if the volume flowing from the U.S. to Nigeria will persist.”
Nigeria ranked as the ninth-largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S. last year.
