?angote Refinery has purchased 5 million barrels of US crude scheduled for delivery next month and in September.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Thursday, the refinery started a tender process in which it intends to buy a further 6 million barrels of American crude for September.
The report said the refinery has bought more than 16 million barrels of West Texas Intermediate crude oil so far this year. According to tenders for new supply seen by Bloomberg, in August and September, the proportion it will purchase from the US may increase.
According to Bloomberg, for Nigeria and ?angote, the use of US crude likely reflects where there are spare barrels available to buy in the world and the most competitive price. The refinery has been billed as a way of helping Nigeria wean itself off foreign fuel supplies. The refinery near Lagos mostly runs on local crude supplies that can reach the plant from offshore terminals in as little as a couple of days, it said.
The report said tracking data indicates that the refinery took in more than 41 million barrels of feedstock in the first half of the year as it completed test runs and gradually raised processing rates.
About a quarter of that has been American supply, according to Bloomberg. With the latest purchase, Bloomberg said the inflows of American feedstock may increase significantly.
In May, the refinery planned a purchase of 24 million barrels of crude from the US for over a year.
