The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has introduced its latest crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend, to the international market.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, announced that the new product was showcased before a large gathering of European crude oil marketers at the Argus European Crude Conference in London, England.
Soneye disclosed that NNPCL intends to double production from the Utapate grade by the end of 2025, increasing output from the current 40,000 barrels per day to 80,000 barrels per day.
The Utapate crude oil blend, extracted from the Utapate field in Oil Mining Lease 13 located in Akwa Ibom State, is similar to the Nembe crude oil grade. With a low sulphur content of 0.0655% and a reduced carbon footprint due to the elimination of flare gas, it meets the stringent specifications of major European buyers.
“In a major boost for Nigeria’s crude oil production, revenue generation and economic growth efforts, the NNPC Ltd. has officially unveiled its latest crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend, before the international crude oil market.
“It would be recalled that in July 2024, NNPC Ltd. And its partner, the Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) Ltd. Introduced the Utapate crude oil blend, following the lifting of the first cargo of 950,000 barrels which headed for Spain.
“During a ceremony held at the Argus European Crude Conference taking place in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday, the Managing Director, NNPC E & P Limited (NEPL), Mr. Nicholas Foucart described the introduction of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global energy market,” Soneye said.
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Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of NNPC E&P Limited, Nicholas Foucart, described the launch of the Utapate crude oil blend as a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global energy market.
“Since we started producing the Utapate in May 2024, we have rapidly ramped up production to 40,000 barrels per day with minimum downtime. 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,” he said.
Foucart said the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NEPL and Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd, boasts a huge reserve of 330million barrels of crude oil, 45 million barrels of condensate and 3.5 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. Essentially, we are targeting opportunities to increase production to 80,000bopd by the end of 2025,” Foucart added.
What you should
Nairametrics recently reported that the NNPC announced that it hit 1.8 million bdp crude oil production in November.
- The national oil company said it is also targeting about 2 million bpd by the end of the year.
- NNPC added that the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
- An increase in crude oil production would mean an increase in foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria, which could help stabilize the local currency, the naira, which is yet to find its balance in the foreign exchange market.
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