Nigeria’s state oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has issued a new tender to sell a cargo of Cawthorne crude, its newest export grade, alongside a separate offer for Bonny Light, according to tender documents seen by Reuters.
The Cawthorne cargo, comprising 950,000 barrels, is scheduled to load September 21-22. NNPC is also offering a similarly sized 950,000-barrel cargo of Bonny Light, set to load September 30-October 1.
Both cargoes are being sold on a free-on-board basis, with bids due by 8 p.m. West Africa Time (1900 GMT) on August 4. NNPC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cawthorne has quickly become a fixture on Nigeria’s export calendar since shipments began in March. It joins Nembe and Utapate as one of several new crude streams the West African producer has rolled out in recent years, part of a broader effort to lift output and widen its slate of export grades following a stretch marked by underinvestment, pipeline vandalism, and widespread crude theft that had sapped production.
The steady cadence of Cawthorne tenders suggests the grade is settling into a regular export rhythm as Nigeria works to rebuild output closer to its OPEC quota. The West African nation, Africa’s largest crude producer, has spent much of the past several years battling to restore lost barrels, with security crackdowns on illegal bunkering and new pipeline infrastructure credited with helping stabilize flows. Related News Nigeria’s agric trade returns to surplus after 6 months of deficit Nigeria’s oldest bank crosses N6trn market capitalisation for the first time European FAs demand new FIFA leadership, call for Gianni Infantino's removal
