The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) yesterday announced the introduction of Utapate crude oil blend, a new crude grade into the international oil market.
The new blend is from Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13 and is fully operated by NNPC Exploration and Production (NEPL), the national oil company’s upstream subsidiary.
A statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, said that the Utapate crude oil blend commenced operations in July 2024, with its first cargo headed for Spain.
Located offshore Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, Utapate’s current crude oil production is at 28,000 barrels per day, the NNPC said, with potential to increase it to 50,000 barrels per day.
In addition, the national oil company stated that the sulphur content of the new crude is 0.0655 per cent.
According to the NNPC, Spanish oil giant Repsol, won the tender for the initial cargo of the new crude blend which is comparable to the much sought after Amenam crude.
