NNPC, US corporation, Exim Bank in talks to finance gas projects

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) has opened talks with the United States Finance Corporation and Exim Bank to seek financing for its multibillion-dollar gas projects.

Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of the NNPC, at the Nigerian International Economic Partnership held in New York on Thursday, said the corporation has met with the and the Exim Bank to source financing for its gas projects.

Nigeria has drawn up an ambitious energy transition plan with the price tag of $410 billion, which requires the bulk of financing coming from developed countries.

“Inclusion (in energy transition) means that we need to be supported,” Kyari said.

The NNPC boss said the country was getting a grant to build baseline carbon emission studies by the United States government and this would be very helpful, echoing the statement by the President.

“Currently, the major source of financing we are having is from the African Exim,” he said.

NNPC secured $ 1 billion financing from the African Exim Bank directed towards fixing its refineries. A condition to secure the financing is that the refineries be run profitably to enable repayment.

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Nigeria has made the argument that gas should be included as a transition fuel and on that basis has drawn up energy transition plans to reach net zero by 2060 that basis is seeking investments to resuscitate abandoned gas projects and build new ones.

Kyari said Nigeria is looking for opportunities to leverage the enormous gas resources in the country to provide the possibility that is required for the energy transition.

It will cost $410 billion to transit, according to the federal government, and huge gas projects like the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the NNPC, ECOWAS Commission, and Morocco to deliver pipelines along the African corridor will gulp billions of dollars.

“We are embarking on massive infrastructure and to see how we can deliver the Morocco gas pipeline which will pass through a number of countries to provide a number of securities including bringing people out of poverty and also an opportunity that is there that we are doing also in the domestic market, increasing more gasses in the domestic market,” he said.

The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline is a 5,600km gas pipeline project, traversing 13 African countries, which, when completed will provide gas from Nigeria to the West African countries up to the Kingdom of Morocco and subsequently to Europe.