Nigeria, highest crude oil producers in Africa lost an average of 130,000 barrels per day as a result of loading problems witnessed in the month of May, shipping data and trade sources have revealed.
Analysts say the drop will further diminish income flow to the country which is already in heavy deficit financing.
The situation is expected to be further exacerbated in July. Nigeria’s Qua Iboe crude stream will load five cargoes in July, down from six planned in June, a trade source said on Monday. Each cargo typically holds 950,000 barrels.
Oil exports from Nigeria, Africa’s top producer and an OPEC member, have dropped by 130,000 barrels per day or more this month as loadings slow from a number of terminals, according to shipping data and trade sources.
Nigeria’s crude shipments have averaged 1.33 million bpd in the first 21 days of May, Refinitiv Eikon data showed, versus 1.46 million bpd in April. Kpler, a company that tracks oil flows, said Nigerian May shipments are down 180,000 bpd.
The drop in Nigerian supply is part of a wider development in which exports from African OPEC members – among them Algeria, Angola and Libya – has fallen by 650,000 bpd in May, Kpler said. The decline so far is unexpected, since OPEC had agreed to raise output from May.
“While late shipments in the month could change the picture, OPEC Africa seems to be struggling with unfavourable market conditions,” Kpler said in a report.
