Spanish oil firm, Repsol has won the tender for the first shipment of 950,000 barrels of Nigeria’s new low-sulfur crude oil blend, known as Utapate.
In addition, another top crude oil trader, Gulf Transport and Trading, obtained the cargo tenders for August and September of 2024.
This was disclosed in a signed statement by the Chief Communication Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Olufemi Soneye on Monday, according to The Punch.
Soneye stated that NNPC had released a new crude oil grade called Utapate crude oil blend to the global market.
“From Oil Mining Lease 13, fully operated by NEPL, NNPC Ltd’s upstream subsidiary, the Utapate crude oil blend commenced operations in July 2024, as its first cargo headed for Spain,” Soneye said.
According to him, Utapate, which is offshore Akwa Ibom State, can currently produce 28,000 barrels of crude oil per day with the potential to produce 50,000 barrels per day. The new crude has a sulphur concentration of 0.0655 per cent.
“Spanish oil giant Repsol won the tender for the initial cargo of 950,000 barrels of the new crude blend which is comparable to the much sought-after Amenam crude.
“Gulf Transport and Trading, another leading crude oil dealer, has also secured the cargoes’ tenders for August and September 2024,” Soneye revealed.
He further said that NNPC had announced the introduction of Nembe crude oil, which is produced by the OML 29 Joint Venture, which is controlled by NNPC and Aiteo, at the Argus European Crude Conference in London last year.
“Similar to the Nembe crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend has a low sulphur content and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required spec of major buyers in Europe.
“This remarkable achievement signals the commitment of NNPC Ltd to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and grow reserves through the development of new assets,” Soneye stated.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries report that as of June, Nigeria was producing 1.25 million barrels per day.
President Bola Tinubu had said on Sunday that Nigeria’s daily oil production increased to 1.6 million barrels per day in July. However, hasn’t been verified as the July data is yet to be published.
