NNPC Announces Launch of New Crude Oil Grade, Targets 50,000bpd

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Monday  announced the introduction of Utapate crude oil blend, a new crude grade into the international oil market.

The new blend is from Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13 and is fully operated by NNPC Exploration and Production (NEPL), the national oil company’s upstream subsidiary.

A statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, said that the Utapate crude oil blend commenced operations in July 2024, with its first cargo headed for Spain.

Located offshore Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, Utapate’s current crude oil production is at 28,000 barrels per day, the NNPC said, with potential to increase it to 50,000 barrels per day.

In addition, the national oil company stated that the sulphur content of the new crude is 0.0655 per cent.

According to the NNPC, Spanish oil giant Repsol, won the tender for the initial cargo of the new crude blend which is comparable to the much sought after Amenam crude.

Besides, it noted that Gulf Transport and Trading, another leading crude oil dealer, had also secured the cargoes’ tenders for August and September 2024.

During the Argus European Crude Conference in London last year, NNPC announced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo operated OML 29 Joint Venture (JV).

“Similar to the Nembe crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend has a low sulphur content and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required spec of major buyers in Europe.

“This remarkable achievement signals the commitment of the NNPC to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and grow reserves through the development of new assets,” the statement added.

Although there are three key crude oil blends, namely: West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude and UAE Dubai Crude, there are tens of other little known grades.

Typically, crude oil is grouped according to its chemical properties, that is mainly  by its density and sulphur content. Crude is said to be sweet when it has a sulphur content of less than 0.5 per cent and sour if it’s higher than 1.0 per cent.