Nigeria’s Crude Exports to U.S Hit Highest Level Since 2019

Crude oil exports from Nigeria to the United States have surged to their highest level in nearly six years, reaching 364,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The sharp increase, up by 358,000 bpd from the previous week, marks the strongest U.S. import volume from Nigeria since October 2019. The spike coincides with an unplanned outage at Nigeria’s 650,000 bpd Dangote refinery, which was offline from April 7 to May 11, according to the EIA’s latest weekly report.

Overall, U.S. crude and fuel inventories fell during the week ending May 23. Crude inventories dropped by 2.8 million barrels to 440.4 million, defying analysts’ expectations of a modest 118,000-barrel rise. Exports of U.S. crude increased by 794,000 bpd to 4.3 million bpd, contributing to the inventory draw.

Analysts noted that stronger demand for gasoline and diesel ahead of the Memorial Day holiday also contributed to the drawdown. Giovanni Staunovo of UBS described the report as supportive, citing higher U.S. crude exports and strong demand signals.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.4 million barrels to 223.1 million, significantly exceeding analysts’ forecasts of a 527,000-barrel draw. Gasoline supplied, a key measure of demand, rose to 9.45 million bpd from 8.64 million the previous week. Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 724,000 barrels to 103.4 million barrels, contrary to expectations of an increase.

The EIA also noted that U.S. distillate stocks fell to their lowest levels since April 2005, with Midwest inventories at a low not seen since November 2017. At the same time, crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub rose slightly by 75,000 barrels.