The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd announced Monday the launch of a new grade of crude oil called Utapate crude oil blend.

The grade, meant for the international market, originated from Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NNPC’s upstream subsidiary NEPL.

NNPC, while noting that the Utapate crude oil blend began operations in July 2024, with its first cargo destined for Spain, noted that the grade is located offshore in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

The current production of the grade stands at 28,000 barrels per day, with the potential to increase to 50,000 barrels per day.

The new crude has a sulphur content of 0.0655 percent, the state oil firm said in a release signed by its spokesman, Olufemi Soneye.

Spanish oil giant Repsol won the tender for the initial cargo of 950,000 barrels of Utapate crude, which is comparable to the highly sought-after Amenam crude, Soneye noted, while adding that Gulf Transport and Trading, another leading crude oil dealer, has secured tenders for cargoes in August and September 2024.

Earlier, at the Argus European Crude Conference in London last year, NNPC Ltd had announced the launch of the Nembe crude oil grade, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo-operated OML 29 Joint Venture.

Like Nembe, the Utapate crude oil blend boasts low sulphur content and a low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, meeting the specifications of major European buyers, the company said.