The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has officially launched a new crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend, to enhance the country’s foreign currency earnings and increase its presence in the global energy market.

NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.

This significant development was unveiled at the Argus European Crude Conference, held in London, where the Managing Director of NNPC E & P Limited (NEPL), Nicholas Foucart, emphasized that the introduction of Utapate marks a milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil exports.

Foucart shared that production of the Utapate Field began in May 2024, and since then, the output has grown rapidly to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) with minimal downtime.

He highlighted that five cargoes of the new blend have already been exported, mainly to Spain and the East Coast of the United States.

Additionally, two more cargoes are scheduled for shipment in November and December 2024, further boosting Nigeria’s crude oil exports.

One of the key reasons for Utapate’s success in the international market is its highly attractive qualities, according to Foucart.

The Utapate crude is sourced from Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, which is fully operated by NEPL and its partner Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd. OML 13 holds significant reserves, including 330 million barrels of crude oil, 45 million barrels of condensate, and an impressive 3.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.

This rich reserve underpins the potential for future growth in Nigeria’s crude oil production.

Looking ahead, Foucart outlined plans to ramp up production from the current 40,000 barrels per day to 50,000 bpd by January 2025.

By June 2025, production is expected to reach between 60,000 and 65,000 bpd, with a longer-term target of 80,000 bpd by the end of 2025.

Lawal Sade, Managing Director of NNPC Trading Limited, explained that the pricing structure of the Utapate blend is similar to that of the Amenam crude.

This is because both are light sweet crudes, highly valued by refiners worldwide for their low sulphur content and efficient yield of high-quality refined products.

The API gravity and other properties of Utapate make it an attractive option for global refineries.