Africa’s biggest oil producer, Nigeria, plans to offer up to 20% of its crude oil production for trading on its commodities exchange, Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, the chief executive of the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange, told Bloomberg in an interview published on Friday. The official didn’t elaborate on when the exchange’s first-ever crude trading would begin.
member Nigeria aims to boost its crude oil production in the coming months and years. Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have long plagued Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry, driving majors out of the country and often resulting in force majeure at the key crude oil export terminals. Nigerian oil production has started to recover in recent months and hit in February its highest level in more than three years amid a concerted effort to crack down on targeted attacks and organized theft rings.