Both India and the United States have reduced their Nigerian crude oil imports by 43% and 53% respectively, a call that translated to a minimum loss of $270m of earnings in the Nigerian economy, reported Punch Newspaper according to data from a report published by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The source further explained that India, Nigeria’s second single largest buyer of crude in 2013, has reduced its crude imports in May 2016 when it purchased 7.74m barrels compared to 13.51, 12.51, and 12.70m barrels in April, March, and February 2016 respectively.
As for the the US, whose imports of Nigerian crude increased by 577.8% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2015, reduced its import by 5.77m barrels in May from 10.13m barrels in the previous month, reported Energy Mix Report.
The collected revenue from oil exports is a fundamental factor that can highly affect the Nigerian economy; the recent cuts from India and the Unites States will do nothing but worsen Nigeria’s economy, that has been suffering from a sharp drop in oil prices since 2014.
