West African petrol imports experienced a significant decline of 56% in the second quarter, based on data from Refinitiv Eikon.

Loadings from the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub to West Africa dropped to 629,000 tonnes in June from 895,000 tonnes in the previous year.

July loadings also saw a decline to 627,000 tonnes from 1.5 million tonnes last year.

The key reason for this drop is the drying up of demand in West Africa, according to Refinitiv Lead Oil Analyst Raj Rajendran.

Nigeria, one of the major consumers of petrol in the region, has witnessed a decrease in demand since the removal of petrol subsidies on May 29.

Despite the reduced demand, foreign refiners from Russia, the Middle East, and Europe are now competing to increase exports of refined petrol to Nigeria.

The shift in gasoline flows into West Africa poses challenges for European refiners, while winners in this scenario might be newer Middle Eastern refineries.

Nigeria’s petrol demand fell by 28% since the subsidy removal, leading to an increase in onshore gasoline stocks in the country.

Nigeria heavily relies on petrol imports due to insufficient domestic refining capacity.