The Nigeria’s push to boost crude oil production after two new grades of crude oil, namely Utapate and Cawthorne, had already made significance progress which helped push crude oil production beyond 12 million barrels within the first five months of 2026.
According to NUPRC, the production of crude oil in Utapate reached 8.75 million barrels during the same period, while Cawthorne supplied an additional 3.41 million barrels to make a total of 12.16 million barrels.
While Utapate had been in production since 2024, the field has continued to record a steady production rate during the five-month period.
This was seen through a rise in daily production from 55,000 barrels in January to more than 59,000 barrels in May. The field is, however, lagging behind expectations of achieving 80,000 barrels per day.
This type of crude oil comes from OML 13 in the state of Akwa Ibom and has drawn worldwide attention due to its sulphur content and lower carbon footprint.
On the other hand, Cawthorne, one of Nigeria’s newest crude blends, experienced a quick rise. Daily output rose from around 12,000 barrels in January to almost 29,000 barrels in May.
The blend has now started its exports with its maiden voyage bound for the Netherlands.
Based on the NNPC Limited statement, Cawthorne is a light sweet crude like Bonny Light and has high petro and diesel production.
The crude is exported through the Cawthorne Floating Storage and Offloading facility in the Bonny area of Rivers State.
This increasing role of both streams is evidence of Nigeria’s effort in diversifying its exports and boosting its oil revenue.
The news comes at a time when Nigeria has posted its best record in crude oil production within 15 months. According to data from NUPRC, the country had produced 1.53 million barrels of crude oil per day in May, above the quota of 1.5 million barrels per day set by OPEC.
By adding the condensate production into account, Nigeria has recorded an impressive daily oil production of 1.7 million barrels per day, which is consistent with Nigeria being Africa’s top oil-producing nation.
