The Russian-Ukrainean war is causing an upset to the supply of base oils in the Nigerian lubricant market, stakeholders told BND. According to Nigerian lubricant blenders, the war between Russia and Ukraine has led to the opening of shipping routes in the global North, especially the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Kazakhstan. “The Russian-Ukrainian war has opened new supply chains in terms of base oil supply,” said Taiye Willians, managing director of Lubcon International Limited. “Some traders are loading more from the United States despite higher freight than from Europe or the Middle East. Singapore-sourced cargoes are making their way into Africa in recent times. Other sources are Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.”

Niyi Okedairo of consultancy, Velvet Hill agreed that “the Russian-Ukrainian war has worsened the supply of base oils in Nigeria”. For his part, Dike Chijioke, Lubricant, and Fuels Sales manager at HOGL, said that while “75% of Group 1 base oils are still imported from Russia and Ukraine, there is a gradual shift in Group II base oils which is now majorly imported from Europe and the USA, because of the increasing presence of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the car manufacturing segment” in the Nigerian Lube market.  

Emmanuel Ekpenyong, Regional Aviation Technical Manager at Puma Energy added that one of the impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the Nigerian lubricant market is that  “the war has driven base oil prices northwards as Russia was a major supplier of base oils in the lube supply chain”. “With the trade embargos placed on Russian oil, blenders have turned to other non-conventional sources, and this has invariably driven base oil prices northward across the world,” Ekpenyong added.  Similarly, Emeka Obidike, executive secretary of the Lubricant Producers Association of Nigeria (LUPAN) said that the Russian-Ukrainian War made it difficult for local blenders to import base oils from Russia, which used to be a source of cheap base stocks. “ “Since the Russian-Ukrainian War Started, the local lubricant market in Nigeria has yet to recover and prices of base oils have skyrocketed and complicated the problem of Nigerian lubricant manufacturers,” Obidike told BND by phone.