The United States has stopped the importation of crude oil from Nigeria following the discovery of Shale oil and gas in commercial quantity in the country. The US was the major customer of Nigeria’s crude oil up until that point, accounting for 19.15 percent of the West African country’s total crude export.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, said in a statement in Abuja on Thursday that Nigeria had begun a search for alternative markets.
The minister was making clarification at a workshop on the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) still pending at the National Assembly.
Calling for the passage of the bill, the minister suggested that his country must adopt a sustainable economic strategy.
The nation, she said expected to have a vibrant economy because it had initiated policies on gas price, commercialisation, and reform on oil as captured in the bill.