INDICATIONS have emerged that the crash in crude
oil imports by the United States (U.S.) has begun
to favour Angola more than Nigeria, which had
maintained its major import market before the
advent of Shale oil.
Specifically, recent data by the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) showed that Angolan
deliveries to the U.S. have averaged around
116,000 barrels per day (bpd) recently, compared
with just 75,000 bpd for Nigeria crude.
It has however, been established that overall
crude import by the U.S. has dropped significantly
since the discovery of oil, which was dexcribed as
a game change to the global crude market.
Reports showed that yearly imports of Angolan
surpassed imports of Nigerian crudes for the first
time in 41 years.
As the tight oil boom continues to reduce US
imports of West African crude, heavier Angolan
grades have proved more resilient than their
lighter regional counterparts, according to the EIA
data.
Sources adduced the main reasons for the
increase in Angolan imports and decrease in
Nigerian shipments to the comparative ease of
blending Angolan grades with shale crude, as well
as demand for heavy refined products and feed
stocks, which favors Angolan crudes.
Earlier data showed that Angolan exports to the
U.S. down 59 per per cent from a peak of 534,378
barrels per day (bpd) in 2006, while Nigerian
exports fell 75 per cent over the same period.
For six consecutive weeks between June 27 and
August 8, the U.S. imported no crude from Nigeria,
the longest period that the U.S. has gone without
imports from the country.
The arbitrage of crude oil from West Africa to the
US Gulf Coast and the US East Coast has
historically been one of the major trade routes in
the global oil market. However, imported volumes
have been dropping steadily since at least 2011, as
domestic US crude production has soared,
displacing arbitrage barrels from Nigeria and
Angola.
Angolan crude has proven far more appealing to
US refiners, as it is mostly of a heavy, sweet
variety. Its low specific gravity makes it denser,
and it also has a low sulfur content. Heavy sweet
crudes are used to blend with the light sweet shale
crude and this has encouraged a preference for
Angolan crudes by US refiners.
Meanwhile, Business Monitor International (BMI),
believed that Nigeria and Angola would continue to
struggle to find markets for crude oil.
“West African crude oil sales continue to
struggle to find markets as European and Asian
demand remains weak. Both Nigeria and Angola
will have to increase discounts on their key
benchmark crudes to maintain global market
share.
“We have already indicated the impact of
reduced demand for light-sweet crude from the US,
due to the sharp increase in production from shale,
and noted West African countries’ efforts to
diversify oil exports to Asia.
“Nigeria and in particular Angola found some
respite by increasing sales to China, however, this
may have just been a temporary solution, with the
West African region acting as a buffer to cover for
global outages,” it stated.
Nigeria had to reduce its crude price for July by
$.015 per barrel to prompt demand increases;
Angola is now likely to follow suit with around 30
per cent of its August cargoes unsold, according
to Platts.



http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/business/energy-report/178374-angola-overtakes-nigeria-as-top-crude-exporter-to-u-s

Overtaking is allowed afterall Nigerian foreign policy is not favouring US too much agn

Overtaking is allowed afterall Nigeria's foreign policy is not favouring US too much agn

Overtaking is allowed when you lack the skill to improve