2017-06-01 19:05:00
NIGERIAN OIL TO INDONESIA
PLATTS - Indonesia is looking to increase its crude purchases from Nigeria, state oil firm Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday.
Harry Purwanto, Indonesia's ambassador to Nigeria, said during a meeting with NNPC group managing director Maikanti Baru in Abuja that the Asian country was seeking to increase crude imports to meet its surging energy needs, the NNPC said in a statement.
"The Indonesia ambassador disclosed that his country looked forward to lifting crude oil directly from Nigeria, rather than through a third party as is currently the case," NNPC said.
The southeast Asian country is a keen consumer of Nigerian crude, buying around 30,000 b/d every month, according to S&P Global Platts estimates.
The country's refiner Pertamina is a key buyer of Nigeria's largest export grade, Qua Iboe, buying around one cargo every month through a tender.
Earlier this month, Pertamina issued a tender looking for a variety of West African crudes for the second half of this year. Traders said the amount of crudes tendered for was larger than normal, including a wider basket of crudes from the region, such as Nigeria?s Qua Iboe, Bonny Light and Escravos; Angola's Cabinda and Girassol; and Gabon's Rabi Blend.
Baru urged Indonesia to consider participating in the forthcoming bid round in order to realize its aspiration of maintaining a presence in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
"The call by the ambassador signifies the prospects of soaring Nigeria's market share in Asian emerging economies which include China and India, having lost ground in crude oil sales in the [US] due to advances in shale oil exploration in recent years," Baru said, according to the statement.
Indonesia, which produces around 730,000 b/d of crude, relies on imports to meet domestic demand of 1.4 million b/d, with Nigeria accounting for 18% of oil imports, the NNPC said.
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Earlier:
INDONESIA:
INDONESIA NEEDS $80 BLN INVESTMENTS
NIGERIA:
