Importation: US Dumps Nigeria Crude Oil

The United States has stopped the importation of crude oil from Nigeria following the discovery of Shale oil and gas in commercial quantity in her country. The US was the major customer of Nigeria’s crude oil up till the discovery, accounting for 19.15 percent of the West African country’s total crude export.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, said in a statement in Abuja on Thursday that Nigeria had begun a search for alternative markets also made a clarification on the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) still pending at the National Assembly.

She said that the situation at hand calls for a change of current policies which may cause future economic stress no matter how dearly Nigerians hold them.

She said:“The global economy is changing and Nigeria must  adopt sustainable economic strategy. I know many of you must have heard the Shale gas and the Shale oil revolution.

“This has literally knocked-out Nigeria from the export to the US. So Nigeria must adopt (new policies to confront the change). We must change our ways and policies that we may hold dear which may cause us economic stress in the future.

“So, this market called the Shale oil and gas has resulted in Nigeria seeking new markets for its oil.”

Mrs Alison-Madueke called for competitiveness in the sector, noting that there is need for new policies to strengthen the industry.

She stressed the importance of natural resources in economic transformation, stressing that  it was high time the government diversified her economy.