The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited says it has commenced the sales of a new crude oil blend, Utapate, to the international market.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, who made the announcement in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the product was extracted from its Oil Mining Lease 13, a facility fully operated by NNPC Exploration and Production Limited.
According to him, the Utapate crude oil mix began operations in July, with the first cargo being sent to Spain.
According to Soneye, OML 13, which is offshore Akwa Ibom State, currently produces 28,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
“Utapate’s current crude oil production is at 28,000 barrels per day, with the potential to increase it to 50,000 barrels per day. Also, the sulphur content of the new crude is 0.0655 per cent,” he said.
He said, “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.”
The NNPC spokesman recalled that during the “Argus European Crude Conference in London last year, NNPC Ltd announced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo operated Oil Mining Lease 29 Joint Venture.”
He pointed out that the Utapate crude oil blend which is similar to the Nembe crude oil grade, “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.”
Soneye said the remarkable achievement signifies the commitment of NNPC to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and grow reserves through the development of new assets.
