Crude oil has been the major source of Nigeria’s revenue for about 30 years now. At a production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day, Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of oil, comprising different types of crude oil which are deposited in numerous oilfields in the southern and western parts of the country. Generally, the oil produced in Nigeria is of high value containing low levels of sulphur. In this article, we’ll be addressing the types of crude oil in Nigeria. Read on to find out.
The types of crude oil in Nigeria would be discussed below:
-
Bonny Light Crude Oil (BLCO)
Bonny Light crude oil was first discovered in commercial quantity in Oloibiri, Bayelsa, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, in 1956. With an API of 32.9, Bonny Light is classified as light oil and is regarded as more valuable than other types of crude oil with lower API. The reason why the Bonny Light is highly sought after is that more high-value products are produced during the refinement process. For this reason, the price of the Bonny Light is higher compared to heavier crude. The biggest buyers of this crude oil include India, the USA, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, France, South Africa, Togo, Argentina, Uruguay, Argentina, and Cote D’Ivoire.
-
Antan Blend
The Antan Blend crude oil is a high-value, low-sulphur content, light crude oil produced from OML123 offshore, and the OML114 oilfields. These valuable qualities of the Antan Blend make it highly desirable for export to big buyers like Canada, Togo, Spain, Argentina, South Africa, India, and the Netherlands.
-
Escravos Light
Escravos Light is a light, sweet oil. Escravos Light is produced off the coast of the Niger Delta in the southern part of the country. US Oil giant Chevron operates the Escravos Terminal and produces 200,000 barrels of oil and condensates per day.
-
Brass River Blend
The Brass River Blend is a high-quality crude oil containing very low sulphur content, as well as low levels of metals and aliphatic materials. This makes the Brass Blend highly valuable because when refined, the products derived from this crude will also have low sulphur content. The following are additional specifications of this sweet, medium-light crude: Acidity of 0.30 mg KOH/g, Nickel content of 1.2 mg/Kg and Vanadium level of 0.1 mg/Kg.
-
Bonny Medium
The Bonny Medium Is a medium light sweet crude with an API Gravity of 25.2, a low sulphur content of 0.23%, and a Pour Point of -27 degrees Celsius. Another important specification of Bonny Medium is its Kinematic Viscosity of 12 mm²/s. The low levels of sulphur, metal, and asphalt materials make it possible for products derived from refinement to be low in sulphur, also.
-
Forcados Blend
Forcados Blend is a unique blend of crude oil produced in Nigeria. The production output of the Forcados Blend is around 200,000 barrels per day. With API Gravity of 29.7 and low sulphur content of 0.29%, this crude oil blend is very valuable globally.
-
IMA
In the 1970s, Japan Petroleum discovered the IMA crude oil in Port Harcourt, however, exploitation didn’t start until 1994 after AMNI International Petroleum Development had acquired the license in 1993. This crude oil is produced from OML112 (OPL469), a shallow water oil field. The production of the IMA blend is projected to end in 2024 as over 98.35% of its reserve has been recovered since the commencement of production in the OML112 oil field in 1994.
-
Odudu Blend
This is a light crude oil produced from the eastern part of the country. This unique crude oil blend is exploited from the following oilfields: Odudu (OML 100), Ofon (102) and Amenam (OML99). The oil from these oilfields is exported to the Total Energies’ Unity Floating Storage and Offloading vessel. Currently, the FSO Unity receives crude at the rate of 230,000 barrels per day. Elf Petroleum Nigeria operates the Odudu Terminal where this unique crude blend is produced, while ExxonMobil and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are the partners.
-
Pennington Blend
Pennington Blend is a medium light sweet crude oil produced off the coast of Bayelsa in the southern region of Nigeria. The offshore Penington terminal is operated by Chevron with a current capacity of 2000 barrels per day. Pennington blend has a low sulphur content of 0.11% and API of 33.7 which makes it a very valuable crude because more low-sulphur content products would be produced during the refining process.
-
Qua-Iboe Light
The Qua-Iboe Light is a unique blend containing very low levels of sulphur, metals and asphaltic materials. This crude oil is produced from several oil fields located offshore in the Bight of Biafra in the southeastern part of Nigeria. The well-balanced intermediate crude, Qua-Iboe Light, from the offshore oil fields is brought to shore via a seabed pipeline to the Qua-Iboe Terminal. And due to the high-value quality of the Qua-Iboe Light, this crude is highly sought after. This is because the products that would be derived after the refining process of Qua-Iboe crude would also have low-sulphur content. Currently, the average production rate is approximately 320kbd. ExxonMobil operates these fields and holds a 40% interest, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) holds the remaining 60%.
-
Ukpokiti
Ukpokiti is a light, sweet crude oil blend produced from OML 108 off the coast of Delta in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Shebah Exploration & Production Company operates the oil field from which the Ukpokiti blend is produced, however, production has been In a steady decline for years due to the cash flow problems faced by SEPCOL.
Most of Nigeria’s revenue is derived from the oil industry. The types of crude oils such as Ukpokiti, Qua-Iboe Light, Bonny Light, Escravos Light and Bonny Light, among others. The low sulphur content of all the types of crude oil produced in Nigeria makes the aforementioned crude oil types highly desirable in the international market.