“The current strongest market for oil is China, which is purchasing copious amounts to fill their strategic reserves combined with record low oil prices. However this unusually strong demand may be temporary. Additionally, militants and black marketers, often with government connections, siphon off as much as 20% of Nigerian’s oil production, which may pose an unacceptably high financial risk.”
Calls for US Action
The president of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, Sam Ohuabunwa, has called upon the US to increase investments in Nigeria, noting that Nigeria has yet to benefit from the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). The US established AGOA in 2000 to provide duty-free and quota-free markets for goods from sub-Saharan African countries imported into the US. Ohuabunwa says the incentives on the AGOA platform are not sufficient to balance the trade volume deficit between Nigeria and the US.
