The introduction of the Utapate crude oil blend has increased Nigeria’s crude oil grades at the international oil market.
The unveiling of the crude oil blend by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has been described as a major boost for Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity and a significant boost to the country’s revenue generation and economic growth efforts.
In July, 2024, the 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 and transported to Spain.
At a formal unveiling ceremony at the Argus European Crude Conference in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday, the Managing Director, NNPC E&P Limited (NEPL), 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.
“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 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 told a packed audience of European crude oil marketers.
Since its introduction into the global market, Foucart said the Utapate crude oil blend has enjoyed a positive response from the international crude oil market, due to its highly attractive qualities.
Foucart said the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NEPL and Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd, boasts of a huge reserves of 330 million barrels of crude oil reserves, 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 40,000 bopd to 50,000 bopd by January 2025 and 60,000 bopd to 65,000 bopd by June 2025. Essentially, we are targeting opportunities to increase production to 80,000 bopd by the end of 2025,” Foucart added.
He said the Utapate crude oil terminal was sustainable, affordable and fully 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 of NNPC Trading Ltd (NTL), Lawal Sade, said the pricing structure of the Utapate crude oil blend was similar to that of Amenam crude as it was 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.
In bringing the new crude oil blend to the global market, he said the NNPC Ltd wanted to optimise value for both its producers and counterparties across the globe.
To ensure predictability and sustainability of supply, he said the NNPC Trading would run a term contract on the Utapate crude oil blend cargoes, principally targeting off-takers from the European and the US East Coast refineries.
Produced from the Utapate field in OML 13 in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to the Nembe crude oil grade, with a low sulphur content of 0.0655% 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 have expressed commitment to operate in a manner that is safe, environmentally responsible, and beneficial to the local communities.
The Utapate field development plan, executed between 2013 and 2019 was approved in October, including 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 is coming barely a year after the NNPC Ltd announced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo operated Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV).
“This remarkable achievement signals the commitment of the NNPC Ltd to increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production and growing its reserves through the development of new assets,” the NNPC Ltd. said in a statement.
