BREAKING: Nigeria to Launch New Crude Grade ‘Obodo’ in April
A new Nigerian crude grade, medium sweet Obodo, will hit the market in April, according to sources familiar with the matter, as the west African country steadily adds to its crude offering, Argus Media, which provides business intelligence, market data, and price assessments for global industries.
Obodo has a gravity of 27.65°API and a sulphur content of 0.05pc, according to an assay seen by the company. A source said the grade is likely to be priced in line with Nigerian medium sweet Bonga. Details on production levels were not immediately available, the report said.
Nigerian independent Continental Oil & Gas will produce Obodo from onshore oil block OML 150 in the Niger delta region, and state-owned NNPC will market the crude, according to two sources. NUPRC data shows Continental Oil has a stake in OML 150 under a production sharing contract — typically between the government and a private company.
The newest Nigerian crude will add to a growing supply of medium sweet grades in the country. NNPC restarted production of similar-quality Utapate in 2024, which followed the launch of Nembe in 2023.
Nigerian medium sweets, including Forcados, Escravos and Bonga, have predominantly found an outlet in Europe — the largest market for Nigerian crude. Obodo could also find favour with European refineries, where seasonal maintenance is scheduled to wind down by the end of April and early May.
Nigerian grades have faced tepid demand in the April-trade cycle as ample availability of lower-priced alternatives such as US WTI, Caspian CPC Blend and other Mediterranean grades enticed European buyers. The trade cycle has since shifted to May, with as many as 15 April-loading Nigerian cargoes still looking for buyers, according to market participants.
Nigeria’s upstream regulator NUPRC in March outlined a plan to add 1.07 million bpd to the country’s liquids output by December 2026. The plan forecasts an injection of capital into Nigerian oil blocks through joint ventures, production-sharing contracts and sole risk contracts, the report said.
Nigeria has struggled to mobilise upstream investment and has consistently fallen short of less ambitious production growth targets in recent years. The country’s crude production fell by 4.5 per cent on the month to 1.47 million bpd in February, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Commission (NUPRC) — just under its OPEC+ quota of 1.5 million bpd.
Also, a report by the organisation has stated that Nigeria’s independently-owned 650,000 bpd Dangote refinery is commissioning its alkylation unit, which will enable it to run its Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) at operating capacity “some time next month”, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
The source said CDU capacity is 550,000 b/d currently, although vessel tracking data suggest it is running some way below that.
Crude arrivals at the refinery to date in March have fallen to between 175,000-235,000 bpd, according to preliminary data from vessel trackers Kpler and Vortexa, from 405,000 bpd in February. Throughput hit a high of 433,000 bpd in December, according to Kpler.
The alkylation line, which produces high octane alkylate for gasoline (petrol) blending, is the last of Dangote’s secondary units to come online. Argus Consulting puts it at a nameplate capacity of 27,000 bpd. Other secondary units could be utilised at their maximum capacity once the alkylation unit is up and running, which would give a boost to gasoline blending component production.
Recent lower runs at Dangote could suggest decreased output of gasoline — a key product in the local refined product market. Nigerian gasoline and blending component imports are around 345,000t to date this month, up from 245,000t in all of February, the report said.
Petrol imports in the wider west African market will be around 450,000 tons in April, a European petrol trader told Argus this week. Nigeria accounts for around three quarters of the region’s imports.
Also, Nigeria’s 210,000 bpd Port Harcourt refinery has been allocated three cargoes of domestic light sweet crude Bonny Light in April-May, according to traders, suggesting that any issues affecting receipts in February and March might have been resolved.
The refinery — which restarted operations late last year following a revamp — has been allocated a 950,000 barrels cargo loading over 5-6 April and two 475,000 barrels shipments loading over 22-23 April and 1-2 May, traders said, citing the latest loading programmes. All three cargoes are to be loaded by the refinery’s operator, state-owned NNPC.
Market sources said last month that Port Harcourt’s February and March crude allocations had been cancelled, with one of the sources saying a crude unit at the refinery was not functioning.
This was not confirmed by NNPC. And a source at the company has since told Argus that a 475,000 barrels shipment of Bonny Light had been due to be pumped to Port Harcourt before operations at the grade’s export terminal were briefly disrupted by a fire on the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) last week.
The Renaissance Africa consortium — which recently took over operatorship of the TNP and the Bonny terminal from Shell — said pipeline flows were restored on March 19.
Port Harcourt — which is designed to run Bonny Light — was originally built as two refineries, and rehabilitation work has only been completed at one 60,000 bpd section.
Total loadings of Bonny Light have been revised to 209,000 bpd for April across seven cargoes and have been set at 202,000 bpd for May across the same number of cargoes.
