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<p>In a major boost for Nigeria’s crude oil production, revenue generation and<br />
economic growth efforts, the NNPC Ltd has officially unveiled its latest crude oil<br />
grade, the Utapate crude oil blend, before the international crude oil market.</p>
<p>It would be recalled that in July, 2024, NNPC Ltd and its partner, the Sterling Oil<br />
Exploration &; Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) Ltd introduced the Utapate<br />
crude oil blend, following the lifting of first cargo of 950,000 barrels which headed<br />
for Spain.</p>
<p>During a ceremony held at the Argus European Crude Conference taking place in<br />
London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday, the Managing Director, NNPC E &; P<br />
Limited (NEPL), Mr. Nicholas Foucart described the introduction of the Utapate<br />
crude oil blend into the market as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil<br />
export to the global energy market.</p>
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<p>“Since we started producing the Utapate Field in May 2024, we have rapidly<br />
ramped up production to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) with minimum downtime.<br />
So far, we have exported five cargoes, largely to Spain and the East Coast of the<br />
United States; while two more additional cargoes have been secured for November<br />
and December 2024, representing a significant boost to Nigeria’s crude oil export<br />
to the global market,” Foucart told a packed audience of European crude oil<br />
marketers.<br />
He added that since its introduction into the global market, the Utapate crude oil<br />
blend has enjoyed a positive response from the international crude oil market, due<br />
to its highly attractive qualities.<br />
Foucart said the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NEPL and Natural<br />
Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd, boasts a huge reserves of<br />
330million barrels of crude oil reserves, 45 million barrels of condensate and 3.5 tcf<br />
of gas.<br />
“We have a number of ongoing projects to increase our production from the<br />
current 40,000bopd to 50,000bopd by January 2025 and 60,000bopd to<br />
65,000bopd by June 2025. Essentially, we are targeting opportunities to increase<br />
production to 80,000bopd by the end of 2025,” Foucart added.He said the Utapate crude oil terminal is sustainable, affordable and fully compliant<br />
with the rigorous environmental regulations and sustainability principles especially<br />
those aimed at reducing carbon emissions and other ecological effects.<br />
Also speaking, the Managing Director of NNPC Trading Ltd (NTL), Mr. Lawal Sade<br />
said the pricing structure of the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to that of<br />
Amenam crude as it is a light sweet crude which is highly sought after by refiners<br />
across the world due to its low sulphur content, efficient yield of high-value<br />
products, API gravity and other similarities.<br />
He said in bringing the new crude oil blend to the global market, NNPC Ltd wanted<br />
to optimise value for both its producers and counterparties across the globe.<br />
He added to ensure predictability and sustainability of supply, the NNPC Trading<br />
intends to run a term contract on the Utapate crude oil blend cargoes, principally<br />
targeting off-takers from the European and the US East Coast refineries.<br />
Produced from the Utapate field in OML 13 in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, the<br />
Utapate crude oil blend is similar to the Nembe crude oil grade. It has a low sulphur<br />
content of 0.0655% and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting<br />
perfectly into the required specification of major buyers in Europe.<br />
The NNPC E&;P Ltd and NOSL partnership is also committed to operating in a<br />
manner that is safe, environmentally responsible, and beneficial to the local<br />
communities.<br />
The Utapate field development plan, executed between 2013-2019 and approved in<br />
October, included converting wells and facilities from swamp/marine to land-<br />
based operations.<br />
The plan involved a multi-rig drilling campaign for 40 wells and the development<br />
of significant infrastructure such as production facilities, storage tank, a subsea<br />
pipeline and an offshore loading platform to facilitate crude oil evacuation and<br />
loading.</p>
<p>The entry of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market is coming barely a year<br />
after the NNPC Ltd announced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the<br />
NNPC/Aiteo operated Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV).</p>
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<p>In a statement by Olufemi O Soneye Chief corporate communications officer NNPCL said the remarkable achievement signals the commitment of the NNPC Ltd to<br />
increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production and growing its reserves through the<br />
development of new assets.</p>
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