African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Friday, announced that it successfully arranged a senior $500-million and a junior $150-million reserve-based lending facility for Oando Petroleum and Natural Gas Company Limited.
The facility was used to finance Oando’s acquisition of the 20 percent participating interest held by Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) in the NEPL/NAOC/Oando Joint Venture in Nigeria.
A statement from the multilateral agency explained that the joint venture, with significant oil and gas assets, including oil mining licenses 60, 61, 62 and 63, has produced 4.4 billion barrels of oil and 12 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to date, with 1.2 billion barrels of oil and 10.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas remaining.
The transaction also involved Indirama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited and Mercuria Energy Group.
Oando is poised for a significant transformation with the acquisition, expecting to boost its production capacity from 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to an impressive 60,000 kboe/day. This leap is not just a milestone for Oando but will support Nigeria’s oil output goals, local economic growth, job creation, infrastructure improvement, and technological advancements in the oil and gas sector.
The deal closing ceremony, led by Wale Tinubu, Oando’s group chief executive, took place in London on August 24, 2024.
We ended the week on a high note!
— Oando PLC (@Oando_PLC) August 23, 2024
At our HQ in Lagos, Nigeria, the air was filled with excitement, hope, and joy as the #HumansofOando, whose dedication and hard work made this milestone possible, celebrated.
The Oando story is a testament that there are no limitations when you… pic.twitter.com/XCqCPbwdTF
Mr. Tinubu – a cousin of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, said at the event, “Today’s announcement is the culmination of ten years of toil, resilience, and an unwavering belief in the realization of our ambition since the 2014 entry into the Joint Venture via the acquisition of Conoco-Philips Nigerian Portfolio. It is a win for Oando and every Indigenous energy player as we take our destiny into our own hands and play a pivotal role in this next phase of the nation’s upstream evolution.
“With our assumption of the operator role, our immediate focus is optimizing the assets’ immense potential, advancing production, and contributing to our strategic objectives. We will do this while prioritizing responsible practices and sustainable development to ensure a balanced approach to our host communities and environmental stewardship as we complement the nation’s plan to boost production output.“
He thanked Afreximbank for its “unwavering leadership in bridging the trade finance gap in Africa.”
Oando Plc, currently trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as NGX: OANDO, has seen its stock price rise recently, closing on Friday, August 23, at N47,85.
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