State oil firm NNPC has awarded 50 companies with contracts to buy Nigerian crude and more than half of them are local firms, foreign and Nigerian trading sources said.
Of the total, 32 were local companies, doubling the number of awards to Nigerian firms compared to 2017.
NNPC also awarded contracts to supply crude to 12 governments, although it was not clear how many of the deals would be handled by the companies already on the list of awards.
NNPC awards the oil purchase contracts annually, but sources said the deals this year were for two years not one year.
Contract awards were announced in January last year. Sources said the government may have delayed an announcement this time by several months as it sought to line up more local firms for awards, so it could drum up support for next year's election.
The sources said a partial list of firms awarded deals emerged on Monday, with a final list coming out on Tuesday.
This year's overall total of 50 foreign and local firms was more than the 39 listed in 2017. The list last year also included three bilateral government deals. NNPC did not respond to calls and emailed requests for comment.
Nigeria's oil ministry said it produced more than 2 million barrels per day of crude and condensate in April. Exports were expected to average 1.8 million bpd in the first half of 2018, up from to 1.6 million bpd in 2017, loading programmes showed.
The following is a preliminary list of winners:
International trading firms and refiners:
Augusta Switzerland based BB Energy Lebanon Cepsa Spain Glencore Switzerland based HPCL Indian refiner Litasco Trading arm of Russia's Lukoil Mocoh Switzerland Petraco Switzerland Petrobras Brazil Sacoil South Africa SEER Unit of South Africa's SacOil Energy Equity Resources Ltd Socar Trading arm of Azerbaijan's Socar Sonara Cameroon refining co Total France Trafigura Switzerland Vitol Britain Calson Vitol/NNPC joint venture ZR Energy Nigerian companies: AA Rano Aipec AMG Arkleen Barbedos Bono Energy Casiva Cretus Emadeb Eterna Gladius Commodities Hinstock Leighton Levene Masters Energy Matrix MRS North West Oando Sahara Group Ocean Bed (Sahara trading subsidiary) Propetrol Prudent Setana Setraco Shoreline Ultimate Gas Voyage West African gas Zitts and Lords Obat Oil & Gas Duke Oil (NNPC subsidiary)
Deals with governments:
China India South Africa Turkey Ivory Coast Ghana Liberia Niger Sierra Leone Senegal Togo Malawi
- Reuters
