Nigeria to begin exporting new crude grade in March, boosting output

Nigeria’s state oil company, NNPC, will start exporting a new light, sweet crude grade called Cawthorne from March, a spokesperson said, adding to a recent recovery in output from Africa’s top oil exporter.

The launch is part of Nigeria’s broader effort to increase production, which has long been constrained by unrest and crude theft, and follows the introduction of two other new grades since 2024. Nigeria, already producing close to its OPEC quota, is among countries seeking a higher target within the producer group.

Cawthorne crude, expected to be exported in the third week of March, has an API gravity of 36.4, making it similar in quality to Nigeria’s Bonny Light, valued for its high yields of gasoline and diesel. NNPC issued a tender for the grade for March 24–25.

The crude will be exported via the Floating Storage and Offloading vessel Cawthorne, which has a capacity of 2.2 million barrels and is intended to boost crude transportation and production from Oil Mining Lease 18 and surrounding assets in the Eastern Niger Delta.

Analysts at Kpler said the vessel could lift Nigeria’s crude and condensate supply from roughly 1.65 million barrels per day to around 1.7 million bpd for the remainder of the year. Nigeria’s OPEC+ crude output quota is 1.5 million bpd, and the country produced 1.48 million bpd in January, according to OPEC data.

Other grades Nigeria has launched in recent years include Obodo in 2025 and Utapate in 2024.

Credit: Reuters