The Nigerian oil market suffer demand problems with the upsurge of Covid-19 cases in India. For the past 3 weeks, Indian Oil Corp has not demanded from Nigeria.
A source who pleaded anonymity also confirmed that “the problem with the lack of demand for Nigeria’s oil coincides with the fact that the US has been exporting a lot of light crude oil – which competes with Nigeria’s oil.” He further added, “despite the deals Nigeria has with India, the Indian refineries are simply not buying now because of COVID.”
According to a report, there is an opportunity for low-cost Nigerian crude that is likely to seem attractive to refiners in Thailand who also need their share of sweet crude for refinery processing.
That demand could help clear unsold June-loading cargoes, with traders estimating around 25-28 Nigerian cargoes unsold in the month as the July trading cycle looms.
Hopefully, demand from Europe increases as well because currently, WTI light crude dominates the European market and Nigerian oil is priced out of it.
Nigeria needs oil money as it represents a large part of its earnings.