Business
Oando Close To Seal Conoco Deal
Nigerian oil firm Oando is close to securing funds to buy ConocoPhillips’ Nigerian assets, the company’s chief executive said on Wednesday, as he looked to allay fears it is struggling to raise finance for the $1.79 billion deal.
Wale Tinubu told Reuters in an interview in Lagos that the firm, having already raised the additional equity needed in February with a rights issue, now also has agreed in principle the necessary debt.
Oando has been looking for the past year to finance its transformation from a marketer of refined petroleum products into an upstream firm focused on oil and gas exploration and production.
The deal to acquire Conoco’s fields, that were producing around 43,000 barrels of oil per day last year and have proven reserves of 213 million barrels of oil equivalent, is scheduled to close by mid-2013.
But analysts have questioned whether Oando can persuade investors to deliver the funds.
“We’re confident in our ability to raise finance,” Tinubu said. “Because we have a diverse group, we’ve been able to raise equity from our shareholders and extract value from parts of our business to reinvest in the upstream.”
Tinubu also said that in reality the deal would only cost Oando around $1.5bn, not the $1.79bn headline figure. He declined to explain the discrepancy, but a source close to the deal said this was because of a net positive cash flow from the assets of $200-$300m.
He said of the $1.5bn cost around $725m would come from debt.
“The debt is already arranged,” he said, but he declined to name banks involved and said some details remained to be worked out. Banking sources say the debt will be in the form of a syndicated loan of international and Nigerian banks.
Tinubu said once Oando had completed its acquisitions, the upstream business would account for about three quarters of its assets, against 40 per cent now.
The ConocoPhillips deal is the latest of several sales of Nigerian onshore assets made by foreign oil companies and Brazil’s Petrobras is now looking to sell $5bn of assets.
“We would certainly be interested in considering it,” Tinubu said when asked if Oando was interested in buying some of the Petrobas interests.
“We know we will be approached by them,” he added.
Political pressure from a government keen to have more indigenous firms operating fields plus rampant oil theft by armed gangs hacking into pipelines and potential liabilities from damaging oil spills have encouraged some foreign firms to slowly move out of onshore oil production.
But other firms like Britain’s Afren and Nigerian firms like Seplat and Conoil are moving in, creating competition for Oando.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
