India has taken over the title of “biggest importer of Nigerian crude” from the United States of America, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
Group General Manager, Strategy of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Tim Okon, revealed this in Moscow, Russia during the ongoing 21st World Petroleum Congress.
According to him, “India is now the largest importer of Nigeria’s oil replacing the U.S. The U.S. merely import about 250,000bpd, they were usually over a million. So that market has moved to Asia, and we are placing more and more of our cargoes in Asia.
“Asia is important and in that respect we respect all markets. The important thing is to make sure that you are selling the products that you have and you do not ignore any market.”
He stated that China and Malaysia trailed closely behind India in demand for Nigerian oil.
Speaking on the delay of passage of the PIB, Okon said it was a good thing that Nigeria was being thorough with its consideration of the bill.
“I cannot talk about future incentives if the principal law that would give birth to it has not been passed, but I want to say that the general intention is that Nigeria must compete in the market place and our fiscal system are designed to be competitive that would lead to good outcomes for the country.
“It is always helpful to do things in a timely manner and that is an important point to stress.
“Many of the countries that were trying to get new legislations passed like Ghana, Brazil, Mozambique and even Uganda have passed their legislation. So I think timeliness is of essence.
“But also we must give credit for thoroughness, so if the delay reflects the fact that we are trying to be thorough then that is a good thing.
“But I emphasise that timelines is of the essence because delay tends to leave uncertainty whether it will be passed or not,” Okon added.