By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has ramped up its daily production of its latest crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend, to 40,000 barrels per day, with plans to double this by 2025.

The development is a major boost for Nigeria’s crude oil production, revenue generation and economic growth efforts, according to the NNPC.

In a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr Olufemi Soneye, on Wednesday in Abuja, the NNPC stated that the new product was unveiled before a packed audience of European crude oil marketers at the ongoing Argus European Crude Conference taking place in London, England.

Business Post reported in August 2024 that NNPC and its partner, the Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) Limited introduced the Utapate crude oil blend following the lifting of the first cargo of 950,000 barrels which headed for Spain.

During a ceremony held at the Argus European Crude Conference taking place in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday, the Managing Director, NNPC Exploration & Production (E&P) Limited (NEPL), Mr Nicholas Foucart described the introduction of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global energy market.

“Since we started producing the Utapate Field in May 2024, we have rapidly ramped up production to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) with minimum downtime. So far, we have exported five cargoes, largely to Spain and the East Coast of the United States; while two more additional cargoes have been secured for November and December 2024, representing a significant boost to Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global market,” Mr Foucart told a packed audience of European crude oil marketers.

He added that since its introduction into the global market, the Utapate crude oil blend has enjoyed a positive response from the international crude oil market, due to its highly attractive qualities.

Mr Foucart said the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NEPL and Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd, boasts a huge reserve of 330 million barrels of crude oil, 45 million barrels of condensate and 3.5 trillion cubic foot (tcf) of gas.

“We have a number of ongoing projects to increase our production from the current 40,000 bopd to 50,000 bopd by January 2025 and 60,000bopd to 65,000bopd by June 2025. Essentially, we are targeting opportunities to increase production to 80,000 bopd by the end of 2025,” Mr Foucart added.

He said the Utapate crude oil terminal is sustainable, affordable, and fully compliant with the rigorous environmental regulations and sustainability principles especially those aimed at reducing carbon emissions and other ecological effects.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of NNPC Trading Limited (NTL), Mr Lawal Sade, said the pricing structure of the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to that of Amenam crude as it is a light sweet crude which is highly sought after by refiners across the world due to its low sulphur content, efficient yield of high-value products, API gravity and other similarities.

He said in bringing the new crude oil blend to the global market, NNPC Ltd. wanted to optimise value for both its producers and counterparties across the globe.

He added to ensure predictability and sustainability of supply, NTL intends to run a term contract on the Utapate crude oil blend cargoes, principally targeting off-takers from the European and the US East Coast refineries.

Produced from the Utapate field in OML 13 in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to the Nembe crude oil grade. It has a low sulphur content of 0.0655 per cent and a low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required specifications of major buyers in Europe.

The NNPC E&P Limited and NOSL partnership is also committed to operating in a manner that is safe, environmentally responsible, and beneficial to the local communities.

The Utapate field development plan, executed between 2013-2019 and approved in October, included converting wells and facilities from swamp/marine to land-based operations.

The plan involved a multi-rig drilling campaign for 40 wells and the development of significant infrastructure such as production facilities, storage tanks, a subsea pipeline, and an offshore loading platform to facilitate crude oil evacuation and loading.

The entry of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market is coming barely a year after the NNPC Ltd. announced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo operated Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV).

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed the midweek session with a 0.02 per cent rise, resulting in the market capitalisation increasing by N160 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.048 trillion.

As for the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI), it improved yesterday by 0.48 points to end the day at 2,990.30 points as against 2,989.82 points it recorded at the previous session.

Business Post reports that the market breadth index was flat after the alternative stock market finished with two price gainers and two price losers on Wednesday.

The value of Nipco Plc went up by N13.09 at the close of trading activities to N143.99 per unit from the N130.90 per unit it traded a day earlier and NASD Plc appreciated by 31 Kobo to settle at N15.51 per share compared with Tuesday’s closing price of N15.20 per share.

On the flip side, Geo-Fluids Plc went down by 28 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N3.66 per unit versus the previous day’s N3.84 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by 25 Kobo to close at N20.00 per share, in contrast to the N20.25 per share it traded a day earlier.

Yesterday, the volume of stocks bought and sold at the NASD OTC exchange decreased by 86.2 per cent to 410,600 units from the 2.9 million units transacted at the last session.

However, the value of securities traded by the market participants increased by 405.1 per cent to N5.96 million from N1.18 million and the number of deals slightly grew by 7.7 per cent to 14 deals from the 13 deals carried out in the preceding trading session.

At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most transacted stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.6 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units sold for N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units valued at N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units valued at N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units worth N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 296.7 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

It was a bad day for the Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, November 20 as it depreciated against the US Dollar by 0.51 per cent or NN8.59 to close at N1,687.52/$1, in contrast to the N1,678.93/$1 it was traded on Tuesday.

Similarly, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market at midweek by N20.98 to settle at N2,139.86/£1 compared with the preceding day’s N2,118.88/£1 and lost N10.00 against the Euro to quote at N1,783.36/€1 versus the previous session’s value of N1,773.36/€1.

The poor performance of the domestic currency occurred amid a slight improvement in the supply of forex to the spot market yesterday by $44.70 million or 34.8 per cent to $173.29 million from the $128.59 million achieved on Tuesday, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

At the parallel market, the Naira suffered a decline of N5 against the greenback during the trading session to trade at N1,745/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,740/$1.

Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) traded above $97,500 and has been projected to hit a landmark $100,000 figure that would push it above a $2 trillion market capitalisation. It gained 6.1 per cent yesterday to trade at $97,705.32.

The market continues to receive a boost from a pro-government stance from the incoming US presidency and a fresh round of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve that brought back risk appetite among traders.

The run is being colloquially termed a “Trump trade” among traders, with all asset classes from stocks to bond gaining since Donald Trump’s election win in the November 5 election.

Also, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 4.6 per cent to end at $1.12 as it continued to benefit from possible changes in the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a move that can finally settle the 2020 lawsuit against Ripple Labs that alleged the XRP token is a security under federal securities law.

Further, Solana (SOL) improved by 3.1 per cent to sell at $240.73, Litecoin (LTC) added 2.9 per cent to finish at $87.26, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 1.1 per cent to $3,136.01, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.8 per cent to $0.3886, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.14 per cent to $612.61, and Cardano (ADA) expanded by 0.08 per cent to $0.1975, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00, respectively.