“Sell It to Dangote”: Nigeria Unveils New Crude Oil Grade, Gets Fast Orders
- The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has unveiled the Utapate Crude Oil Blend
- The newly discovered crude grade contains low sulphur of about 0.0655% and is mined offshore in Akwa Ibom state
- The new crude grade has received orders from Spain and UAE, with 950,000 barrels already sold
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Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has introduced the Utapate Crude Oil Blend, a significant development in Nigeria’s oil industry.
The National Orientation Agency posted this on its X handle on Friday, August 23, 2024.
Source: Getty Images
Buyers rush Nigeria’s new crude oil
The new crude grade is differentiated by its low sulphur content of about 0.0655% and minimal carbon footprint due to the elimination of flare gas, which aligns with the specs sought by major European oil firms.
According to reports, NNPCL has sold about 950,000 barrels of the Utapate Crude Oil Blend to REPSOL, a Spanish oil giant, via a successful tender in July.
The tenders for August and September have been secured by UAE’s Gulf Transport and Trading Company.
The new crude oil grade is mined offshore in Akwa Ibom State, and it represents NNPC’s commitment to developing new assets to boost crude oil production and Nigeria’s revenue.
Nigeria tops Africa in crude oil production
The new crude grade is produced at a rate of 28,000 barrels per day and can reach 50,000 barrels daily.
Legit.ng reported the discovery of the Utapate crude oil grade, saying that many countries have already placed orders to secure its purchase.
The development comes as Nigeria reported increased crude oil production for July, making it Africa’s largest oil producer.
According to data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s crude production it stood at 236,229,281 barrels in the first half of 2024.
FG agrees to sell crude oil to refineries in naira
Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission confirmed that 44.2 million barrels of crude were produced in January and 38.3 million in February.
The Punch reported that 38.1 million barrels were produced in March, and 38.4 million were produced each month in April.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has agreed to commence the sale of crude oil to the Dangote and other local refineries in naira, starting October 1.
The development comes after a standoff between industry regulators and refineries over the sale of crude oil, which has been blamed for the delay in Dangote Refinery's release of petrol into the Nigerian market.
Oil workers give reasons for petrol scarcity
Legit.ng earlier reported that Festus Osifo, the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), has given reasons for the continuous queues in petrol stations nationwide.
The PENGASSAN president, who spoke at the association’s Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja on Thursday, August 22, 2024, blamed weak and outdated distribution channels for the queues.
He disclosed that the channels are weak in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry, stating that is why most of the stations do not have petrol.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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