Demand for Nigerian oil from the Asian market has been negatively affected by the Russia-Ukraine war, the state-owned National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) said.  

India, a primary destination for Nigerian crude, has turned to discounted Russian oil since the war broke out, an executive at the state oil firm in Africa's largest oil producer said.    

The downturn has also come at a time of substantial price shocks on energy prices globally, Maryamu Idris, Executive Director of Crude & Condensate at NNPC, said at the Argus European Crude Conference in London, according to a statement issued by NNPC.

“To illustrate the extent of this shift, Nigeria's crude exports to India dwindled from approximately 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the six months preceding the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine to 194,000 in the subsequent six months afterwards," Idris said.     

"So far this year, only around 120,000 bpd of Nigerian crude volumes have made their way to India,” she said.

On the other hand, Nigerian crude flows to Europe have increased in a bid to fill supply gaps left by the ban on Russian energy.    

Six months before the war, 678,000 bpd of Nigerian crude grades went to Europe, compared to 710,000 bpd six months later and 730,000 bpd so far this year, Idris said.    

Several Nigerian distillate-rich oil grades have become a steady preference for many European refiners, given the absence of Russian Urals and diesel, the NNPC executive noted.     

Europe is importing Forcados Blend, Escravos Light, Bonga, and Egina, she said, noting that Nigeria's latest addition - Nembe Crude – fits well into this basket.     

The new Nembe grade - launched in London on Tuesday at the Argus conference - is the first crude marketing project of its kind to be entirely handled by Nigerian businesses NNPC and oil firm Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)