NNPC’s Utapate crude grade enters global market, projected to boost Nigeria’s oil exports

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has unveiled the Utapate crude oil blend, its latest crude oil grade, in the international crude oil market.

In a statement on Wednesday by Femi Soneye, NNPC’s spokesperson, the oil firm said the launch was a major boost for Nigeria’s crude oil production, revenue generation, and economic growth efforts.

In August, NNPC said it introduced the Utapate crude oil blend following the lifting of the first cargo of 950,000 barrels which headed for Spain.

During a ceremony at the Argus European Crude conference in London, the UK, on Wednesday, Nicholas Foucart, managing director of NNPC Exploration & Production Limited (NEPL), described the introduction of the crude oil blend into the market as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global energy market.

“Since we started producing the Utapate Field in May 2024, we have rapidly ramped up production to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) with minimum downtime,” the statement reads

“So far, we have exported five cargoes, largely to Spain and the East Coast of the United States; while two more additional cargoes have been secured for November and December 2024, representing a significant boost to Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global market,” Foucart said.

Foucart added that since its introduction into the global market, the Utapate crude oil blend has received a positive response from the international crude oil market, due to its highly attractive qualities.

He said the oil mining lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NEPL and Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd, has a huge reserve of 330 million barrels of crude oil, 45 million barrels of condensate, and 3.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas.

“We have a number of ongoing projects to increase our production from the current 40,000bopd to 50,000bopd by January 2025 and 60,000bopd to 65,000bopd by June 2025,” he said.

“Essentially, we are targeting opportunities to increase production to 80,000bopd by the end of 2025.”

Also speaking, Lawal Sade, managing director of NNPC Trading Ltd (NTL), said the pricing structure of the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to that of Amenam crude.

He said this is because it is a light sweet crude that refiners all over the world are very interested in due to its low sulphur content, efficient yield of high-value products, American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity, and other similarities.

Sade said to ensure predictability and sustainability of supply, the NTL plans to operate a term contract on the Utapate crude oil blend cargoes, primarily targeting off-takers from the European and the US East Coast refineries.

The UTAPATE CRUDE OIL BLEND

Produced from the Utapate field in OML 13 in Akwa Ibom state, the national oil company said the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to the Nembe crude oil grade.

According to the statement, it has a low sulphur content of 0.0655 percent and “low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required specification of major buyers in Europe”.

“The NNPC E&P Ltd. and NOSL partnership is also committed to operating in a manner that is safe, environmentally responsible, and beneficial to the local communities,” the statement reads.

“The Utapate field development plan, executed between 2013-2019 and approved in October, included converting wells and facilities from swamp/marine to land-based operations.

“The plan involved a multi-rig drilling campaign for 40 wells and the development of significant infrastructure such as production facilities, storage tank, a subsea pipeline, and an offshore loading platform to facilitate crude oil evacuation and loading.’

The entry of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market comes one year after the NNPC announced the launch of the Nembe crude oil blend.