Nigeria Nationwide Petroleum Co. Ltd. (NNPC) is searching for offtakers as it really works to double manufacturing capability for the brand new Utapate crude oil mix to 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the tip of 2025, saying the product meets specs for European consumers.
The nationwide oil and fuel firm and its Utapate discipline companion Sterling Oil Exploration & Vitality Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (SEEPCO), an area participant, began exporting the sunshine candy crude July with 950,000 barrels despatched to Spain, NNPC stated in an announcement.
“Since we began producing the Utapate Subject in Could 2024, we’ve got quickly ramped up manufacturing to 40,000 barrels per day with minimal downtime”, NNPC Exploration and Manufacturing Ltd. managing director Nicholas Foucart informed the Argus European Crude Convention in London, as quoted by NNPC. “Up to now, we’ve got exported 5 cargoes, largely to Spain and the East Coast of the USA, whereas two extra further cargoes have been secured for November and December 2024, representing a major enhance to Nigeria’s crude oil export to the worldwide market”.
- Advertisement -
Produced in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13 in Akwa Ibom state, Utapate crude is just like the Nembe crude that Nigeria launched late final yr, based on NNPC. Utapate crude “has a low sulfur content material of 0.0655 % and low carbon footprint attributable to flare fuel elimination, becoming completely into the required specification of main consumers in Europe”, NNPC stated.
OML 13 holds reserves of 330 million barrels of petroleum, 45 million barrels of condensate and three.5 trillion cubic toes of fuel, based on NNPC. Positioned onshore oil-rich Niger Delta, OML 13 spans 1,987 sq. kilometers (767.2 sq. miles), based on on-line info from the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee. The lease is owned by NNPC’s upstream arm and SEEPCO subsidiary Pure Oilfield Providers Ltd.
“We’ve quite a few ongoing tasks to extend our manufacturing from the present 40,000bopd [barrels of oil per day] to 50,000bopd by January 2025 and 60,000bopd to 65,000bopd by June 2025”, Foucart informed the business gathering. “Primarily, we’re focusing on alternatives to extend manufacturing to 80,000bopd by the tip of 2025”.
The Utapate growth transformed swamp and marine wells and services to land-based operations. The builders drilled 40 wells and constructed a storage tank, a subsea pipeline and an offshore loading platform, based on NNPC.
“The entry of the Utapate crude oil mix into the market is coming barely a yr after the NNPC Ltd introduced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo operated Oil Mining Lease 29 Joint Enterprise”, NNPC famous.
The primary Nembe crude cargoes had been exported to France and the Netherlands, with 950,000 barrels every, NNPC informed final yr’s Argus European Crude Convention.
Nigeria’s hydrocarbon manufacturing ramped as much as 1.8 million barrels a day (MMbd) of oil and seven.4 billion cubic toes per day of fuel this month, with the potential for crude manufacturing growing to 2 MMbd by the tip of 2024, NNPC reported November 14. The extent grew from 1.43 MMbd final June.
Moreover the Utapate discipline, the Madu discipline started manufacturing and the Awoba discipline restarted manufacturing lately. The latter two, additionally positioned within the Niger Delta, add a mixed 32,000 bpd to Nigeria’s output capability.
Madu is anticipated to common 20,000 bpd, NNPC stated in a press launch April 19. In the meantime, Awoba restarted manufacturing at an preliminary fee of 8,000 bpd, anticipated to scale as much as as a lot as 12,000 bpd inside a number of weeks, NNPC stated April 23.
On September 9, NNPC stated its three way partnership with Chevron Corp. is focusing on to succeed in manufacturing of 165,000 bpd by the tip of 2024 after changing their licenses underneath the phrases of the Petroleum Business Act (PIA). NNPC and Chevron’s native arm Chevron Nigeria Ltd. count on the conversion to “considerably enhance crude oil manufacturing”, NNPC stated.
To contact the writer, electronic mail jov.onsat@rigzone.com
