- Crude oil prices have risen, signalling an imminent rise in petrol prices globally
- Reports say Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose by 0.5% to $76.45 and $7260 respectively on Friday, February 21, 2025
- The rise in crude prices came amid threats by President Donald Trump to refill the US oil reserves quickly
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
Crude oil prices rose on Friday, February 21, 2025, with Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rising by 0.5% to $76.45 and $72.60 amid President Donald Trump’s promise to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Trump disclosed this at an investment conference in Miami, stressing the importance of restoring the reserve to save the US energy security.
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Trump says US oil reserve is depleted
According to him, the reserve was at its lowest before taking over the government, pledging to ‘fill it up fast.’
According to a BusinessDay report, the Joe Biden administration released 180 million barrels from strategic reserve in 2021 to combat soaring fuel prices.
The US Department of Treasury said the releases helped to lower petrol prices by about 40 cents per litre in 2022.
However, the reserve now holds about 395 million barrels of crude, almost 250 million less at the start of Biden’s government. The reserve has a 714 million barrel capacity.
The US President also promised tax cuts for oil and gas producers, promising to work with the opposition in Congress to reduce financial burdens on families and companies.
Trump proposes to oil companies
Trump’s proposal includes letting oil producers spend 100% of their capital spending to stimulate domestic energy investment.
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Reports say oil drillers have indicated they have no plans to increase production unless global prices rise enough to make it worthwhile.
Refinery owners blame FG for the shortfall
The development comes amid blame by Nigerian refinery owners who blame oil regulators for failure to meet local demand.
The Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) has blamed the oil industry for its failure to meet domestic fuel consumption demands.
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria’s petrol consumption dropped from 66 million litres per day to 50 million due to subsidy removal.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) disclosed this recently.
Refiners, however, said regulators could not allocate enough crude oil to local refineries, preventing them from reaching their full production capacity.
Nigeria still imports fuel despite functional refineries
They accused the NMDPRA of preferring to issue petrol import licenses to meet the needs of domestic refiners.
Punch quotes CORAN’s publicity secretary, Eche Idoko as saying that the prolonged absence of oil allocation under the Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation (DSCSO) guidelines is the reason for the shortfall in petrol supply.
Idoko stated this as he reacted to a revelation by NMDPRA that Nigeria’s three functional refineries produce less than 50% of the country’s daily petrol consumption needs.
Petrol consumption drops
Legit.ng earlier reported that the NMDPRA has revealed that Nigeria’s three functional refineries supply less than 50% of the country’s petrol consumption despite improved refining capacity.
The NMDPRA said the shortfall in petrol supply was being met by importing petroleum products.
The authority also said the country’s petrol consumption has fallen to 50 million litres daily.
