By Emmanuella Anokam
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC Ltd) has officially unveiled its latest crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend to the international crude oil market.
Mr Nicholas Foucart, the Managing Director, NNPC E & P Ltd. (NEPL) on Wednesday, at Argus European Crude Conference, in London described the development as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global energy market.
NAN recalls that in July, the NNPC Ltd. and its partner, the Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) Ltd introduced the Utapate crude oil blend.
This followed the lifting of first cargo of 950,000 barrels which headed for Spain.
Foucart, in a statement issued by Olufemi Soneye, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd. on Wednesday in Abuja, described the development as a major boost for Nigeria’s crude oil production, revenue generation and economic growth efforts.
“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.
“So far, we have exported five cargoes, largely to Spain and the East Coast of the U.S.A.
“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.
He said that since its introduction into the global market, the Utapate crude oil blend had enjoyed a positive response from the international crude oil market due to its attractive qualities.
He said the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, operated by NEPL and Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd, boasted reserves of 330 million barrels of crude, 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 Jan. 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 said.
He said the Utapate crude oil terminal was sustainable, affordable and compliant with the rigorous environmental regulations and sustainability principles especially those aimed at reducing carbon emissions and other ecological effects.
Also speaking, the Managing Director, NNPC Trading Ltd. (NTL), Mr Lawal Sade said the pricing structure of the Utapate crude oil blend was similar to that of Amenam crude.
According to him, it is a light sweet crude which is highly sought after by refiners across the world due to its low sulphur content, efficient yield of high-value products, API gravity and other similarities.
He said in bringing the new crude oil blend to the global market, NNPC Ltd wanted to optimise value for both its producers and counterparties across the globe.
He said to ensure predictability and sustainability of supply, NNPC’s trading intended to run a term contract on the Utapate crude oil blend cargoes, principally targeting off-takers from the European and U.S East Coast refineries.
Produced from the Utapate field in OML 13 in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, the Utapate crude oil blend was similar to the Nembe crude oil grade.
It has a low sulphur content of 0.0655 per cent and low carbon footprint due to gas flaring elimination, fitting perfectly into the required specification of major buyers in Europe.
The Utapate field development plan, executed between 2013 to 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 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 is coming barely a year after the NNPC Ltd announced the inauguration of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo operated OML29 Joint Venture.
NAN
