NNPCL Exports New Utapate Crude Blend, Boosting Nigeria’s Oil Market Presence

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has commenced the exportation of its new Utapate crude oil blend, produced from the Utapate field in Oil Mining Lease 13, Akwa Ibom State.

In a statement signed in Abuja by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, on Wednesday, November 20, the petroleum company hailed this milestone as a significant boost to Nigeria’s crude oil exports to the global market.

According to Soneye, samples of the new Utapate crude oil blend were presented to investors, including European crude oil marketers, at the ongoing Argus European Crude Conference in London, England.

The Managing Director of NNPC E&P Limited, Nicholas Foucart, emphasized in his address that the company has exported five cargoes of the new product to international refiners in Spain and the United States.

He revealed that NNPCL had increased the production of the product to 40,000 barrels per day within six months of exploration in Akwa Ibom.

Foucart stated that the Utapate crude oil blend has met international crude oil market requirements, making it a preferred choice for refiners. He added that two more cargoes are already secured for delivery by the end of the year.

Foucart said, “Since we started producing the Utapate in May 2024, we have rapidly ramped up production to 40,000 barrels per day with minimal downtime. So far, we have exported five cargoes, largely to Spain and the East Coast of the United States, while two additional cargoes have been secured for November and December 2024, representing a significant boost to Nigeria’s crude oil exports to the global market.”

He also mentioned that OML 13, managed entirely by NEPL and Natural Oilfield Services Limited, a subsidiary of SEEPCO Limited, possesses substantial reserves, including 330 million barrels of crude oil, 45 million barrels of condensate, and 3.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Foucart added that plans are underway to further increase the daily production target from 40,000 barrels per day to 50,000 by the first quarter of 2025, with more significant increases expected by the end of the year.

Revealing NNPCL’s plan, he said, “We have several 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.”