Nigeria has for
long been a major producer of crude oil ever since the first commercial well
was drilled in Oloibiri in present day Bayelsa state. The country presently has
an estimated 35.3 billion barrels both onshore and offshore assets mostly
domiciled in the Niger Delta basin. Nigeria presently ranks tenth in the most
petroleum-rich nation, and by the far the most affluent in Africa producing
about two million {2,000,000} barrels per day.
Nigeria's
petroleum is classified mostly as "light" and "sweet", as
the oil is largely free of sulphur. Nigeria is the largest producer of sweet
oil in OPEC. This sweet oil is similar in composition to petroleum extracted
from the North Sea. This crude oil is known as "Bonny light". Names
of other Nigerian crudes, all of which are named according to export terminal,
are Qua Ibo, Escravos blend, Brass River, Forcados, and Pennington Anfan.
Sales
of crude oil in Nigeria are usually done through the Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation {NNPC} on FOB basis.
Prospective buyers can also source the product on the following delivery terms
from other source CIF, TTT or TTO.
FOB – Free On
Board (named loading port): The classic maritime trade term, seller must load
the goods on board the ship nominated by the buyer, cost and risk being divided
at ship's rail. The seller must clear the goods for export.
TTO-
Tanker-Taker-Over: As the name suggests refers to a situation where the buyer
takes over the hiring of the pregnant vessel along with the product it
contains.
TTT- Tanker to
Tanker Transfer: This refers to a situation where the buyer hires his own
vessel and uses same to purchase products from the seller.
Petroleum
products are among the most valuable natural resources abundantly available in
our country. Nigerians and people everywhere use petroleum products as a fuel
in their automobiles, generating sets, industrial plants and for cooking
purposes, thus making petroleum products an essential commodity that is needed
for the daily operations of individual, industrial and national activities.
Nigeria
being an oil producing nation however still relies on imported petroleum
products for the servicing of the economy. Such petroleum products as Petrol
(PMS), Diesel (AGO) and kerosene (DPK) are products utilized by almost
everybody on daily basis at an average of 60 million litres daily usage.
Due
to increasing level of standard of living, more Nigerians are increasing the number
of cars on the road, the need for constant power supply to aid uninterrupted
production of goods and services and also for domestic use more Nigerians are
increasing the demand for fuel in order to enjoy the usage of their generating
sets and industrial plants.