$250 Million: Expended by the African Export Bank (Afreximbank) in subsidy of the Trans Niger Oil and Gas Limited Oil Mining License 17 Acquisition

By Abdul Rahman Bangura–

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone-  The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has reimbursed $250 million of the $1.1 billion in sponsorship of the obtainment of 45% stake in Oil Mining License (OML 17) onshore oilfield by Trans Niger Oil and Gas Limited (TNOG).

Afreximbank declared openly this in a statement issued January 28th, 2021 from its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. With the $250-million Reserve Based Lending facility, Afreximbank was the biggest lender, underwriting about a quarter of the financing that allowed TNOG to pay for a shares in OML 17 from Shell Petroleum Development
Company, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and ENI.

Additional contributing lenders include: Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Union Bank, Shell, Hybrid Capital and Schlumberger, with TNOG instructed by United Capital Plc. Precisely, the five-year $1.1billion facility, which was approved in December 2020, despite the economic headwinds provoked by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic, was led, as Mandated Lead Arrangers, by Afreximbank, Standard Chartered Bank, and ABSA.

Pursuing the accession, TNOG will now regulate the OML 17 onshore oilfield on behalf of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), that acquires the continuing 55% working interest.

Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said: The statement referred to the President of Afreximbank, Oramah, as announcing that, “This transaction further underscores Afreximbank’s commitment to ensuring that indigenous African companies are able to play a more dominant role in the operations of specialized oil and gas assets in an industry hitherto dominated by the International Oil Companies”.

Oramah expanded that “TNOG as the Operator of OML 17 will invest in a high velocity of production ramp up, thereby improving foreign exchange revenue and employing the more.

“This resonates with our mandate. We congratulate Heirs Holdings for keeping the Africa flag flying.”
Moreover, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, the parent company of TNOG, Tony Elumelu, told in the statement that, the understanding was a testament of the alternative in Nigeria.

“The transaction is a testament to the opportunity in Nigeria. Our acquisition of OML 17 and important related assets, significantly advances Heirs Holdings strategic vision of creating Africa’s leading integrated energy company.

“We are building a business that will ensure that African natural resources drive African power networks and ensure value creation occurs in Africa,” Elumelu stated. He thanked Oramah and Afreximbank for their powerful assistance and the shared conception of the marketing.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent

www.newafricadailynews.com