Going by the latest figures compiled by the US government, Nigeria is now the third largest exporter of crude oil to America.

 

According to Empowered Newswire reports, the US Energy Information Administration in March said Nigeria had overtaken Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to get to the third position in energy supply to the US.

 

Nigeria was regarded as the fifth largest exporter of crude oil to the US, coming behind Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

 

But from January to March this year, Nigeria has been supplying an average of 1,156,000 barrels per day to the US.

 

Nigeria is following Canada which supplies 1,825,000 barrels per day and Mexico, 1,475, 000 barrels per day.

 

Last year, Nigeria’s average net export oil supply was ranged at 2.2 million barrels per day.

 

Nigeria‘s supply to the US is rising in spite of oil disruptions in the Niger Delta.

 

US official records on the monthly energy data released on May 30, and obtained on Tuesday by Empowered Newswire indicated that for the first time in recent times, Nigeria supplied more crude oil to the US than Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

 

The figures showed that Canada and Mexico were the first and second largest exporter of oil to the US. They have retained that spot for a while followed by Saudi Arabia until Nigeria increased its supply in March.

 

According to the Energy Information Administration, Nigeria exported 1,290,000 barrels per day to the US in March, coming behind Canada which exported 1, 780, 000 and Mexico which exported to the US 1, 621, 000 barrels per day.

 

Saudi Arabia followed after Nigeria with 1, 216, 000 barrels per day for May and Venezuela came in afterwards with 1,036,000 barrels per day.

 

Policy experts both in Nigeria and the US have actually been projecting that the US would be looking to Nigeria for more of its oil supplies now more than from the Middle East.

 

Other African countries, according to the records, are Angola which came sixth with 696,000 barrels per day, Algeria which came eighth with 501,000; Libya which came 14th with 105,000 and Congo-Brazzaville, 79,000 barrels per day, occupies the rung of the ladder at 15th.

 

Other countries quoted in the records included Iraq, which was with 532,000 barrels per day; Kuwait eighth with 288,000, Brazil 209,000 came 10th; Russian 11th with 193,000; Ecuador 12th at 191,000; and Colombia 13th with 108, 000 barrels per day.

 

In all, the monthly data analysis said crude oil imports in March 2007 ”shows that four countries have each exported more than 1.10 million barrels per day to the United States.”

 

It added that the top five exporting countries, (with Nigeria in number 3) accounted for 67 per cent of US crude oil in March.

 

By that month, total crude oil imports to the US averaged 10.348 million barrels per day, which is an increase, according to the US government agency, of 1.299 million barrels from the February data.