The products, SaharaReporters gathered, included Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas which were being shipped away from the country in millions of metric tonnes.
Some countries in North and South America have been destinations of illegally exported hydrocarbon products from Nigeria through international cartels for more than 22 years, documents obtained by SaharaReporters have shown.
The products, SaharaReporters gathered, included Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas which were being shipped away from the country in millions of metric tonnes.
The documents further showed how the vessels loaded hydrocarbon products from Nigeria to the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina without documentation.
The illegal exportation is done by some highly influential individuals with the backing of some bigwigs in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
The NLNG is an Incorporated Joint Venture owned in the following proportions: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) (49%), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6%), Total Energies Gaz & Electricité Holdings (15%), and Eni International N.A. N.V. S.àr.l (10.4%).
According to official records, NLNG has a total production capacity of 22 Million Tons Per Annum (mtpa) of LNG and 5mtpa of Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) from its six-train plant complex and boasts of 16 long-term Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with 10 buyers and controls about 6 per cent of global LNG trade.
In five years, from 2009 to 2013, over $1bn worth of hydrocarbon products were exported using backdoors from Nigeria to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the United States. Unconfirmed sources revealed that the illegal exportation is still ongoing with the backing of some key players in NLNG.
From the documents, SaharaReporters saw that for the export to Argentina, Berge Arzew vessel with IMO Number 9256597, LNG Pioneer with IMO Number 9256602 and LNG Virgo vessels with IMO Number 7390179 illegally export the hydrocarbon products from Nigeria. Escobar Port and Bahia and Blanca Port are the usual destinations of the products in Argentina.
On the 31st of January 2013, LNG Virgo Vessel illegally exported 28,080 metric tonnes of products from Nigeria to Escobar, Argentina while Berge Arzew exported the same quantity of products to the Escobar ports on 18th of August 2011. Also, on the 14th of June 2013, LNG Pioneer conveyed 55,477 metric tonnes of products from Nigeria to Argentina.
The total value of the products shipped to Argentina by the three vessels was $52.1million.
354,018 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products estimated at over $177 million were illegally exported to Brazil without trace and documentation. Surprisingly, LNG Lagos vessel with IMO Number 7360124 illegally exported products to Rio de Janeiro ports on 19th of May 2013 aiding the stealing of hydrocarbons to foreign countries. The value of the undeclared product illegally exported using the LNG Lagos vessel was worth $26.9 million.
Brazil had five additional cargoes of undeclared products from Nigeria docked at the Rio de Janeiro port, the documents further revealed.
Arctic Princess vessel (IMO Number 9271248) shipped 62,608 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products valued at $31.3million; Golar Maria (IMO Number 9320374) shipped 60,000 metric tonnes of product valued at $30million; while LNG Finima (IMO Number 7702401) shipped 55,000 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products valued at $27.5million.
Other vessels used to ship products from NLNG to Brazil are Methane Jane Elizabeth (IMO Number 9307190) which carried 62,608 metric tonnes valued at $31.3million and the Methane Nile Eagle vessel (IMO Number 9321770) which illegally shipped 60,000 metric tonnes of product valued at $30million to Brazil port.
A total of 354,018 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products valued at $177million was shipped to Brazil. $34million worth of hydrocarbon products were illegally exported to the USA in six trips using six different vessels for transportation.
SaharaReporters learnt that vessels belonging to Abuja, Bayelsa, Edo, Sokoto and Rivers states were used to transport hydrocarbon products bought by the USA without following due protocol.
LNG Abuja vessel, LNG Bayelsa vessel, LNG Sokoto and LNG Neva River transported 54,000 metric tonnes, 57,616 metric tonnes, 61,000 metric tonnes and 61,776 metric tonnes respectively to Lake Charles port, USA.
Also, LNG Edo transported 51,792 metric tonnes of product to Cove Point port while LNG Sokoto again transported 58,000 metric tonnes of hydrocarbon products to Sabine Pass port.
A total of 344,184 metric tonnes of product worth $34.4million were illegally exported to the USA.
One of the destinations with the highest quantity of backdoor export is Mexico.
The North American country has proven to be a safe haven for illegal exports of hydrocarbon products from Nigeria LNG. Products worth $981.5million were exported to Mexico in 33 trips using different vessels to wade away any form of suspicion.
NLNG personnel oversaw the exportation of the products to Mexico as no official paperwork was prepared for the export. Of the 28 seaports in Mexico, the vessels used for exporting products from Nigeria all docked Altamira ports.
A total of $1.245billion worth of hydrocarbon products were illegally exported using the backdoor from Nigeria to Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and USA in five years.