Nigeria’s state oil company NNPC has issued a fresh tender to sell a 950,000-barrel cargo of its newest crude grade, Cawthorne, alongside a separate 950,000-barrel cargo of Bonny Light loading September 30-October 1, with bids on both due August 4.
The Cawthorne cargo is scheduled to load September 21-22, with both cargoes sold on a free-on-board basis. NNPC began exporting Cawthorne in April with its first 950,000-barrel shipment; the grade carries an API gravity of 36.4, placing it in the same light, sweet category as Nigeria’s flagship Bonny Light. It is exported through a floating storage and offloading vessel of the same name, with a storage capacity of about 2.2 million barrels, designed to boost crude transportation from Oil Mining Lease 18 and surrounding eastern Niger Delta assets.
Energy intelligence firm Kpler estimates Cawthorne’s addition could lift Nigeria’s crude and condensate supply to around 1.7 million barrels per day, up from about 1.65 million bpd previously. The grade follows the 2025 launch of Obodo and the 2024 launch of Utapate, part of a broader NNPC push to widen Nigeria’s crude slate as the country continues pressing for a higher OPEC+ production quota, having pumped close to its current 1.5 million bpd quota after years of underperformance linked to pipeline vandalism and crude theft.
Source: businessfront.com