Do You Know That a New Crude Grade Is Joining Nigeria’s Export Portfolio?

You may have missed it in recent headlines, but starting in March 2026, Nigeria will begin exporting a newly developed light crude oil grade called Cawthorne, as an NNPC spokesman confirmed in London this week. The launch of this new grade stemmed from an effort to enhance oil output, following several years of underperformance in the sector due to operational challenges. This announcement followed the presidential executive order suspending NNPC's 30% deduction of frontier fees from gross oil revenue and requiring that all related earnings be remitted to the Federation Account.

Unlike Nigeria’s flagship, Bonny Light, Cawthorne crude grade has an API gravity of 36.4, which is widely valued by refiners for its high gasoline and diesel yields. Normally, Cawthorne is a light, low-sulfur crude that is known to fetch competitive prices in global markets, owing to its ease of refining and low refining costs. According to Punch Newspapers, Energy Analysts at Energy Intelligence, the new crude grade is expected to be moved using a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel with a capacity of about 2.2 million barrels of oil. The vessel supports production from Oil Mining Lease (OML) and close assets in the eastern Niger Delta.

According to Brandspur, analysts from Kpler projects believe that adding Cawthorne to Nigeria’s oil portfolio could increase total crude and condensate production from roughly 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd) to around 1.7 million bpd for the remainder of 2026. That would likely place Nigeria’s output above its current OPEC+ quota of 1.5 million bpd, even though we have struggled to sustain it consistently.

But how does that affect the Nigerian economy? Well, the possible increase may not seem large on a global scale, but it will be a meaningful improvement for Nigeria, which has seen crude oil production onstrained by pipeline vandalism, crude theft, and security disruptions. Since crude oil has remained the major source of foreign exchange earnings for the FGN, the proposed higher oil output and export will increase public revenue, consequently enabling the government to fund its budget.

Although market volatility and overdependence on crude oil may pose challenges for this new grade of crude, the introduction is still likely a signal of the strengthening phase the sector is undergoing. But from the headlines so far, it appears that the government is making every effort to increase its public revenue to enable it to service the nation’s debt and fund its budget. Nevertheless, time will tell how far this development gets us in 2026!

Disclaimer: The content above is an independent analysis for informational purposes only, and the data cited were drawn from public sources where market trends and insights were made available.