Nigeria: Heirs Energy Secures $750 Million Afreximbank Facility To Boost Oil Production

Nigeria’s indigenous oil and gas firm, Heirs Energy, has secured a $750 million financing facility from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to scale up its oil and gas operations.

Heirs Energy anticipates that the facility will raise crude oil production to about 100,000 barrels per day and gas output to approximately 250 million cubic metres.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Abuja on Saturday, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, described the transaction as a strong vote of confidence in African enterprises and institutions, praising Afreximbank for supporting large-scale indigenous projects.

“The most impactful and catalytic financial institution in Africa is Afreximbank. They have grown the capacity and the boldness to support African businesses,” Elumelu said.

He noted that the bank had played a defining role in Heirs Energy’s growth journey, adding that the latest financing demonstrated African capital working for African businesses.

According to Elumelu, Afreximbank’s willingness to restructure facilities and provide room for expansion underscored its confidence in the company’s long-term prospects.

“For Afreximbank and others to come together and say, ‘we can restructure this and give you room to scale,’ again shows Afreximbank’s belief in us. They started this journey and are now helping us move to the next level,” he said.

Elumelu added that financial backing comes with responsibility, stressing that performance is key to sustaining trust. He disclosed that despite severe oil theft challenges, the company has never defaulted on its obligations.

Recounting the acquisition of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17, Elumelu said the transaction faced prolonged delays under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, partly due to concerns that the asset was considered too large for private sector ownership.

“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,” he said, noting that the delays imposed significant financial costs on the company.

The President of Afreximbank, Dr. George Elombi, said the bank’s support for Heirs Energy aligned with its broader commitment to strengthening Africa’s energy sector, which he described as critical to economic stability across the continent.

“If we did not support the energy sector, about 23 African countries would be in serious trouble,” Elombi said, adding that the bank was preparing additional billion-dollar interventions to stabilise the sector.

He noted that Afreximbank’s African ownership reinforced its resolve to remain a dependable partner in both favourable and challenging times.

Providing details of the facility, the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Heirs Energy, Samuel Nwanze, said the financing was structured 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 up to about 100,000 barrels per day and 250 million cubic metres of gas,” Nwanze said.

He disclosed that when the company acquired OML 17 from Shell, Total, and Eni, it raised about $1.1 billion, most of which has been repaid after nearly four years of operations.

According to Nwanze, 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 the 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 securing additional funding, which will be used to pursue growth, while part will go towards refinancing our existing debt,” he said.

Nwanze added that increased gas production from OML 17 has already boosted power generation across Nigeria’s eastern domestic gas network, improving capacity utilisation at plants such as Geometric and Transcorp.

“If we continue growing the business, we believe we can make an even greater impact on energy supply and sufficiency, not just for Nigeria but across the continent,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NNPC/Heirs Energy OML 17 Joint Venture has signed Gas Flare Commercialisation Agreements under the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), as well as approved non-NGFCP frameworks.

The agreements bring together Heirs Energy, as operator of the OML 17 Joint Venture, and approved flare gas offtakers under frameworks designed to eliminate routine gas flaring while converting previously wasted resources into economic value.