NNPCL to export first crude cargo to Europe via Delta tanker

According to data from TradeWinds, the crude will be loaded on April 9 or 10 onto the Meltemi I, a 164,000-dwt tanker owned by Greek firm Delta Tankers and chartered by NNPC Shipping.

“This is a milestone for NNPC and Nigeria,” said Panos Gliatis, the Managing Director of NNPC Shipping. “Until now, the market operated on a free-on-board basis.” This latest deal, however, was executed on an ex-ship basis, meaning NNPC is responsible for both shipping and insurance.

The crude cargo was sold in March to one of the world’s major oil companies and can be discharged at various ports across Europe.

This move builds on NNPC’s earlier success in 2023, when it completed its first LNG exports under similar terms.

Two shipments were made—one to Japan and another to China—delivered via Knutsen OAS Shipping’s Grazyna Gesicka, a 174,000-cbm LNG carrier.

Since entering LNG trading in 2021, NNPC has expanded its shipping operations. It recently announced plans to form a joint venture with Sweden’s Stena Bulk and Nigeria’s Caverton Marine to operate a modern fleet of tankers and gas carriers focused on West Africa.

The initiative follows a prior suezmax charter deal with the Stena group and NNPC Shipping’s supply of crude to Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery using two suezmax vessels from the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool.