The United States imported 11.67 million barrels lower in the first five months of this year, than what it bought in the same period of 2019.
It was gathered that the United States reduced its imports of Nigerian crude oil to 9.37 million as against the 21.03 million barrels imported from January to May 2019, according to data obtained from the US Energy Information Administration on Friday.
The highest monthly volume of Nigerian crude purchased by the North American country so far this year was 2.12 million barrels, compared to 11.78 million barrels in 2019.
Its purchases plunged by 63.03 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 to 5.53 million barrels, compared to the last quarter of 2019 when it bought 15.07 million barrels from Nigeria.
The US bought 1.92 million barrels in January; 1.93 million barrels in February; 1.68 million barrels in March; 1.70 million barrels in April, and 2.12 million barrels in May, according to the EIA.
The US has significantly reduced imports of Nigerian crude oil in the past few years as the oil produced in its shale operations is similar to the light sweet Nigerian crude.
Following the coronavirus-induced crash in oil prices and demand, Nigeria has been struggling to sell its crude oil cargoes.
Prior to the lockdowns and collapse in crude oil demand caused by coronavirus crisis, the rise of US shale oil was already proving uniquely challenging for Nigeria.
