Heirs Energy has secured a $750 million financing facility from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to ramp up its oil and gas production.
The deal signed on Saturday, December 20, in Abuja, is expected to help the indigenous energy firm ramp up its crude oil output to about 100,000 barrels per day and gas to 250 million cubic metres.
At the signing ceremony, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, described the transaction as a strong vote of confidence in African enterprises and institutions.
“The most impactful and catalytic finance institution in Africa is Afreximbank. They have grown the capacity and the boldness to support African businesses,” Elumelu said.
He noted Afreximbank has played a defining role in the company’s growth journey.
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“For Afreximbank and others to come together and say, okay, we can restructure this and give you room to scale, it again shows Afreximbank’s belief in us. They started this journey and are now helping us move to the next level,” Elumelu said.
He said the financial backing comes with responsibility, noting that performance is key to sustaining trust.
According to Elumelu, despite severe oil theft challenges, the company never defaulted on its obligations.
Recalling the company’s experience in the acquisition of Oil Mining Lease 17, he added, “Our government at the time refused to approve it because it was considered too big for the private sector, forgetting that Shell itself was a private sector entity.”
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Commenting, Afreximbank president George Elombi said the bank’s support for Heirs Energy aligned with its broader commitment to strengthening Africa’s energy sector.
“If we did not support the energy sector, about 23 African countries would be in serious trouble,” he said.
He added that the bank was preparing additional billion-dollar interventions to stabilise the sector.
On his part. Heirs Energy executive director and chief financial officer, Samuel Nwanze, explained that the financing is designed to consolidate recent gains and unlock the next phase of growth.
“Currently, we are producing over 50,000 barrels of oil per day and about 120 million cubic metres of gas. This funding is designed to help us scale to about 100,000 barrels per day and 250 million cubic metres of gas,” Nwanze said.
He hinted that when the company acquired OML 17 from Shell, Total, and Eni, it raised about $1.1 billion, most of which had been repaid after nearly four years of operations.
He said the new facility, structured under a five-year reserve-based lending framework, includes refinancing of existing debt as well as fresh capital for expansion.
“One leg is refinancing of existing debt. We are also structuring what we call a reserve-based lending facility.
“Because we have grown the capacity of the assets, we are getting additional money. The additional money will be used to pursue growth, while part of it will go towards refinancing our existing debt,” Nwanze said.
Pinnacle Daily reports that the NNPC/Heirs Energies OML 17 Joint Venture had earlier this month signed gas flare commercialisation agreements under the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme and approved Non-NGFCP frameworks.
The agreements brought together Heirs Energies, as operator of the OML 17 Joint Venture, and approved flare gas offtakers under frameworks designed to eliminate routine flaring while converting previously wasted resources into economic value.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
