Business
Afreximbank Gives TNOG $250m To Acquire 45% Stake In Shell’s OML 17

Afreximbank has disbursed $250 million as part of its support for Trans Niger Oil and Gas Ltd (TNOG) to acquire 45 per cent stake in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17 onshore oilfield.
The NNPC holds 55 per cent equity in the lease, which covers Etche, Ikwerre, Obio/Akpor and Oyigbo local government areas of Rivers State.
Although the acquisition does not include assets in Shell’s Industrial Area (IA) where its corporate and operational offices are located and Residential Area (RA) where top management staff and other social facilities are domiciled.
The disbursement is about a quarter of the financing required to enable TNOG to buy stakes in the lease from Shell Petroleum Development Company, Total E&P Nigeria Ltd and ENI (AGIP).
The total support package from Afreximbank – Africa Export Import Bank – is $1.1billion, it said in a statement issued in Cairo on Thursday.
It noted that with the $250million Reserve Based Lending (RBL) facility, Afreximbank was the largest lender in the acquisition process.
Other participating lenders are Africa Finance Corporation, Union Bank, Shell, Hybrid Capital and Schlumberger, with United Capital Plc, advising TNOG.
“The five-year $1.1billion facility, which was signed in December, 2020, in spite of the economic headwinds caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, was led by Afreximbank as Mandated Lead Arrangers.
“Others are Standard Chartered Bank and Amalgamated Banks of South Africa.
“Following this acquisition, TNOG will now operate the OML 17 onshore oilfield on behalf of the NNPC,’’ it stated.
The Afreximbank President, Prof Benedict Oramah, said in the statement that: “the transaction further underscores the bank’s commitment to ensuring that indigenous African companies were able to play a more dominant role in the operations of specialised oil and gas assets in an industry dominated by international oil companies.
“TNOG as the Operator of OML 17 will invest in an accelerated production ramp up thereby boosting foreign exchange earnings and employing more Africans.
“This resonates with our mandate and we congratulate Heirs Holdings for keeping the African flag flying,’’ he said.
The statement quoted Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, to have said that the transaction was a testament to the opportunities that abound in Nigeria.
TNOG is a sister company of Heirs Holdings Ltd and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc
Elumelu added that the acquisition of OML 17 significantly advanced 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 that value creation occurs in Africa.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank Afreximbank, and President Oramah for their strong support and shared vision of the transaction,’’ Elumelu was also quoted to have said.
The statement added that Afreximbank remained a key financier of the African oil and gas industry through RBLs and Pre-Export Finance structures in Nigeria, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Senegal, Republic of Congo, Angola and South Sudan.
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Blue Economy: Minister Seeks Lifeline In Blue Bond Amid Budget Squeeze

Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is seeking new funding to implement its ambitious 10-year policy, with officials acknowledging that public funding is insufficient for the scale of transformation envisioned.
Adegboyega Oyetola, said finance is the “lever that will attract long-term and progressive capital critical” and determine whether the ministry’s goals take off.
“Resources we currently receive from the national budget are grossly inadequate compared to the enormous responsibility before the ministry and sector,” he warned.
He described public funding not as charity but as “seed capital” that would unlock private investment adding that without it, Nigeria risks falling behind its neighbours while billions of naira continue to leak abroad through freight payments on foreign vessels.
He said “We have N24.6 trillion in pension assets, with 5 percent set aside for sustainability, including blue and green bonds,” he told stakeholders. “Each time green bonds have been issued, they have been oversubscribed. The money is there. The question is, how do you then get this money?”
The NGX reckons that once incorporated into the national budget, the Debt Management Office could issue the bonds, attracting both domestic pension funds and international investors.
Yet even as officials push for creative financing, Oloruntola stressed that the first step remains legislative.
“Even the most innovative financial tools and private investments require a solid public funding base to thrive.
It would be noted that with government funding inadequate, the ministry and capital market operators see bonds as alternative financing.
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