Nigerian refinery output up

ABUJA, May 18, 2017 – The easing of violence against oil and gas facilities in Nigeria has driven refinery output up significantly in the first quarter, international media reported on Wednesday.

The news came days after the EIA announced that the country’s oil revenue had fallen from USD 37 billion in 2015 to USD 26 billion last year.

“Refining activities peaked at 10 million barrels of crude oil in the first quarter,” Maikanti Baru, the managing director of state oil firm NNPC, said in a statement cited by Reuters.

That volume corresponds to some 42% of the crude processed in Nigeria during the whole of 2016 and exceeds the total of 8 million barrels refined in 2015.

Earlier in May, Italy’s Eni reportedly agreed to build a 150,000-bpd greenfield refinery in the country.

Nigeria, which has been importing up to 80% of its fuel despite being one of Africa’s largest crude producers, has been planning upgrades to its aging refineries, and foreign companies, including Eni and GE, have in recent months expressed interest in the sector.

The Nigerian government is also planning to lower the limits of sulphur content in imported petrol from 1,000 ppm at present to 500 ppm or even 150 ppm, Platts reported on Wednesday, in a move that could drive up prices of imports and delay ongoing attempts to negotiate purchases of refined products in exchange for crude.

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