According to data from the US Energy Information Agency, the United States imports of Nigerian crude oil fell by 64.12%, the lowest in five (5) years, in 2020.
The US purchased 24.42 million barrels of oil from Nigeria in 2020, compared to 68.06 million barrels purchased in 2019.
US Imports from Nigeria in 2020
- In January, the US imported 1.93 million barrels
- In February, the US imported 1.93 million barrels
- In March, the US imported 1.68 million barrels
- In April, the US imported 1.71 million barrels
- In May, the US imported 2.12 million barrels
- In June, the US imported 3.09 million barrels
- In July, the US imported 760,000 barrels
- In August, the US imported 3.25 million barrels
- In September, the US imported 2.09 million barrels
- In October, the US imported 618,000 barrels
- In November, the US imported 3.78 million barrels
- In December, the US imported 1.96 million barrels
ANNUAL US IMPORTS FROM NIGERIA FROM 2012 – 2016
- In 2012, the US imported 148.48 million barrels
- In 2013, the US imported 87.40 million barrels (the fall was due to the shale oil boom)
- In 2014 (when global oil prices fell from a peak of $115 per barrel), the US imported 21.24 million barrels
- In 2015, the US imported 19.85 million barrels
- In 2016, the US imported 75.81 million barrels
US SHALE OIL vs NIGERIAN LIGHT SWEET CRUDE
The demand for light sweet Nigerian crude in the US has decreased because it is similar to the light oil produced in US shale. The growth of the shale crude has reduced the import of Nigerian crude. In January 2020, US crude production reached a peak of 12.8 million bpd.
CAUSE OF THE 2020 DECLINE
The decline is due to reduced drilling activity caused by low oil prices in 2020. The 2020 decrease in production was the largest annual decline in EIA’s records, as the crude oil production averaged 11.3 million barrels per day in 2020, down 935,000 bpd (8%) from the record annual average high of 12.2 million bpd in 2019.
