Buying Nigerian crude oil: international buyer centre

The buyer's path

Purchase requirement checklist

A credible requirement — whether you express it in a letter of intent or through our form — answers the questions a seller's trading desk will ask first. Have these ready:

• The contracting entity: legal name, country and registration number, registered address, website.
• Your role: end user, refinery, trader acting as principal, or mandated representative — and, if a representative, written evidence of authority.
• The grade, and whether alternatives are acceptable; any limits on API gravity, sulphur, acidity or metals.
• Quantity and tenor: a single cargo or a term contract; barrels per cargo or per month. Standard Nigerian cargoes are about 950,000 barrels.¹
• Delivery: FOB, CIF or CFR; destination country and discharge port; loading or delivery window.
• Pricing and payment preferences: benchmark (see how Nigerian crude is priced) and the type of bank instrument you expect to use. Final arrangements are always subject to the transaction structure, banking requirements, compliance and applicable law.
• Track record: prior crude purchases and approximate annual volumes.

The KYC pack serious counterparties exchange

Know-your-customer checks run in both directions and normally follow an initial conversation, not precede it. NNPC's published tender requirements are a good guide to what an established seller expects of a buyer:²

• Certificate of incorporation or registry extract.
• Constitutional documents and particulars of directors and shareholders with percentage holdings.
• Declaration of ultimate beneficial owners.
• Company profile: facilities, markets and volumes handled over recent years.
• Audited accounts for the last three years.
• Evidence, through your bank, of the ability to open a letter of credit.
• Declarations on insolvency, fraud convictions and anti-corruption compliance.
• Sanctions questionnaire covering the company, its owners, vessels and destination — see international compliance for buyers.³⁴

We ask for documents only when they are needed, store them privately and never publish them. We will never ask for online banking credentials, PINs or authentication codes.

What we do with your submission

1. Receipt

   You receive a reference number immediately and an acknowledgement by email.

2. Initial review

   We assess whether the requirement is complete, plausible and one we can help with. Not every enquiry proceeds, and we say so plainly.

3. Qualification

   We request KYC documentation and carry out company, ownership and sanctions checks.

4. Supply matching

   With our Nigerian partner we seek supply from lawful sellers. Any availability is subject to confirmation by the seller.

5. Commercial process

   Principals negotiate and sign formal contracts. Payment is made through the banking system against shipping documents.

Frequently asked questions

Do you publish prices or available cargoes?

No. Nigerian crude is priced as a differential to Dated Brent on each transaction, and cargo availability changes constantly. We do not publish price lists, inventories or "allocations". Our pricing guide explains how the formula works.

Do you charge buyers a fee to submit a requirement?

No. We do not charge buyers any upfront, registration or processing fee. Treat any such request made in our name as fraudulent and report it to us.

What is the minimum quantity?

Nigerian crude is sold in full cargoes, normally about 950,000 barrels and for a few grades 650,000 or one million barrels. We cannot assist with small parcels.

Is submitting the form a binding commitment?

No. Submission of a purchase request does not itself create a binding obligation to buy or sell unless and until appropriate contractual documents are executed.

Can you work with a mandate or intermediary?

We can consider enquiries from mandated representatives who can provide written evidence of their authority from an identified buyer. We cannot progress enquiries where the end buyer is undisclosed.