As part of an effort to boost output, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) will begin exporting a new light, sweet crude grade called Cawthorne from March, according to a company spokesperson.
This marks a further recovery in output for Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer.
The launch of Cawthorne is part of the broader plan to raise production, which has long been constrained by unrest, crude theft and pipeline vandalism.
The launch follows the introduction of two other new grades since 2024 as part of Nigeria’s efforts to meet its OPEC quota, while seeking a higher target within the oil producers’ group.
Cawthorne crude, which is due to be exported in the third week of March according to the source, 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 last week issued a tender for the grade for March 24-25, a trader said.
The crude is expected to be exported through the Cawthorne -Floating Storage and Offloading vessel, which has a capacity of 2.2 million barrels.
According to analyst Kpler, it is aimed to boost crude oil transportation and production from Oil Mining Lease 18 and surrounding assets in the country’s Eastern Niger Delta.
Based on the vessel’s storage constraints, Kpler explained that Cawthorne could lift Nigeria’s crude and condensate supply from roughly 1.65 million barrels per day currently to around 1.7 million bpd for the rest of the year.
Nigeria’s OPEC+ crude output quota is 1.5 million bpd, and the country pumped 1.48 million bpd in January, based on OPEC data.
In recent years, Nigeria launched other grades such as Obodo in 2025 and Utapate in 2024.
