Foreign firms win tenders for Nigeria’s new crude oil

Spanish oil giant, Repsol, has won the tender for the initial cargo of 950,000 barrels of Nigeria’s new low-sulphur crude oil blend, Utapate.

Also, Gulf Transport and Trading, another leading crude oil dealer, secured the cargo tenders for August and September 2024.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited disclosed this in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, on Monday.

Soneye said NNPC has introduced Utapate crude oil blend, a new crude oil grade into the international 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.

He stated that Utapate, located offshore Akwa Ibom State, has current crude oil production of 28,000 barrels per day, with the potential to increase it to 50,000 barrels per day, adding that the sulphur content of the new crude is 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 announced.

He added that during the Argus European Crude Conference in London last year, NNPC announced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo-operated OML 29 Joint Venture.

“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 PUNCH reported earlier that the Suezmax Front Seoul loaded Utapate on July 24. The vessel headed to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. The first shipment of Utapate is destined for the Spanish refiner Repsol SA.

As of June, Nigeria’s daily production stood at 1.25 million barrels per day, according to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

On Sunday, President Bola Tinubu disclosed that Nigeria’s daily oil production had risen to 1.6mbpd in July. This claim has yet to be confirmed as the data for July has yet to be released.

Similarly, the NNPC had also said it would do everything possible to achieve two mbpd. Experts said this is the only way NNPC could conveniently sell 450,000bpd to Dangote and other local refineries as directed by Tinubu.

Last week, the President ordered NNPC to sell crude oil to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other domestic refineries in naira.