Nigeria's state oil firm tenders 950,000 barrels each of two crude grades for September

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has issued two crude oil tenders for September, covering 950,000 barrels of Cawthorne crude and 950,000 barrels of Bonny Light crude, respectively. The Cawthorne cargo is scheduled for loading on September 21-22, marking another sale of this grade since it began exports earlier this year.

The Cawthorne grade was introduced to diversify Nigeria's crude export portfolio and support production growth following years of underinvestment, oil theft, and disruptions in the Niger Delta. This light, low-sulfur crude has an API gravity of 36.4, close to the quality range of Bonny Light. Its first 950,000-barrel cargo was loaded in April and shipped to the Netherlands.

This new stream is associated with OML 18 in the eastern Niger Delta and is exported via the FSO Cawthorne, a floating storage and offloading vessel with a storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels. The additional output is expected to lift Nigeria's crude and condensate production from 1.65 million barrels per day to 1.7 million barrels per day.

NNPC has launched several new export grades to increase marketable crude streams. Utapate was introduced in 2024, followed by Obodo in 2025 and Cawthorne in 2026. This strategy provides producers with additional export outlets, unlocking output from assets previously constrained by evacuation and infrastructure bottlenecks.

The September tenders come amid shifting global trade flows for West African crude. Sellers have raised offers due to disruptions related to the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, but trading activity remains cautious as buyers assess the impact on shipping and supply. For Bonny Light alone, approximately 364,000 barrels per day are planned across 12 cargoes.