Nigerian oil finds new buyer as Turkey’s largest refinery places fresh order

The move boosts Nigeria’s oil export ambitions, with Turkey’s largest refinery, Tüpraş, emerging as a key buyer of Nigerian oil.

According to The Punch, the transaction was tracked via global commodity data firm Kpler, which confirmed the shipments but did not disclose their exact volume. The deliveries are expected within a two-month window.

This development is a positive signal for Nigeria as it looks to ramp up crude oil production and increase export sales—factors that are crucial to the success of its 2025 budget.

With oil accounting for roughly 90% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings and projected to fund 56% of this year’s federal spending, the Tupras deal could play a meaningful role in supporting Nigeria’s fiscal targets.

Tüpraş, Turkey’s largest oil refiner, operates four major refineries in Kocaeli, İzmir, Kırıkkale, and Batman, with a combined total refining capacity of 30 million tons per year.

In a recent shift, the company has diversified its crude sources beyond traditional suppliers, placing orders for cargoes from Nigeria, Guyana, Libya, and Norway, according to data from commodity tracking firm Kpler.

Notably, Tüpraş has also resumed purchasing Russian crude after suspending such imports in early February, in response to sanctions imposed by the G7 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The move had earlier prompted the company to reduce its reliance on Russian oil due to the mounting pressure from Western sanctions, increased financial risks, and logistical complications tied to the enforcement of the G7-imposed price cap.

According to Turkey’s energy regulator, Tüpraş was one of the largest importers of Russian crude in 2022, with Russian oil accounting for approximately 65% of the country’s total oil imports between January and November 2024.

Reuters reports that Tüpraş is scheduled to receive at least two cargoes of Russian Urals crude for April loading.

One of these is already en route: the Nissos Christiana tanker loaded roughly 730,000 barrels from Russia’s Baltic port of Ust-Luga on April 3 and is expected to arrive on April 21 at Izmit, home to one of Tupras’s major refineries with a daily capacity of 225,800 barrels.

As geopolitical tensions and market dynamics continue to evolve, Tüpraş appears to be strategically balancing its energy imports—resuming Russian supplies while also engaging with new partners such as Nigeria in a bid to safeguard its refining operations and meet domestic demand.