Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC will start exporting a new light, sweet crude grade called Cawthorne in March, a spokesperson for the state oil company NNPC said, adding to the recent recovery in production from Africa’s top oil exporter.
The rollout of Cawthorne is part of Nigeria’s wider effort to raise oil output, which has long been held back by unrest and crude theft. It follows the launch of two other new grades since 2024, according to Reuters.
Cawthorne crude is scheduled to be shipped in the third week of March, according to a source familiar with the matter.
With an API gravity of 36.4, its quality is similar to Nigeria’s well‑regarded Bonny Light, known for yielding high amounts of gasoline and diesel. Last week, NNPC issued a tender for Cawthorne cargoes for March 24–25, a trader said.
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Analysts at Kpler noted in a report that exports of the grade are expected to flow through the Floating Storage and Offloading vessel Cawthorne, which has a storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels.
The vessel is intended to improve crude oil transport and production from Oil Mining Lease 18 and adjacent assets in the Eastern Niger Delta.
Based on the vessel’s storage limits, Kpler said Cawthorne could raise Nigeria’s crude and condensate supply from about 1.65 million barrels per day at present to around 1.7 million barrels per day for the remainder of the year.
Nigeria’s OPEC+ crude output quota is 1.5 million barrels per day, and the country produced 1.48 million barrels per day in January, according to OPEC data.
Other new grades Nigeria has introduced recently include Obodo in 2025 and Utapate in 2024.
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Image Credit: NNPC Limited
