UTM Offshore, Afreximbank sign $11.4bn financing deal
African Export-Import Bank has signed a financing deal with UTM Offshore Limited
This deal was signed at its 29th Annual Meetings in Cairo, Egypt recently. The bank will partly finance activities designed to progress the first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas project in Nigeria to bankability.
According to a statement issued by the bank, the deal marked a continuation of the support of Afreximbank, which had been leading UTM’s fundraising efforts to secure the necessary investments required for the project’s implementation.
In line with Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act and global energy transition efforts, UTM Offshore Limited is to carry out the FLNG project in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its affiliate, LNG Investment Management Services.
Meanwhile, UTM is undertaking the development, design, and construction of an FLNG facility with a Liquefied Natural Gas nameplate production capacity of 1.2m metric tons per annum and a storage capacity of 200,000 cubic meters, as well as ancillary facilities to be located 60-kilometre from the shore of Akwa Ibom State.
According to the Executive Vice-President of Afreximbank, Mr. Amr Kamel, “Specifically, the project will generate exports estimated at a minimum of $11.4bn from Nigeria to the rest of the world, in the process creating over 2,000 construction jobs and a minimum of 1,000 high-quality jobs.
“To support this project throughout its journey along the project finance value chain, Afreximbank is leveraging its diverse product suite to provide end-to-end solutions. During the pre-investment stage, the project preparation facility will be deployed towards de-risking the project and rapidly advancing it towards bankability.
Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UTM Offshore Limited, Mr Julius Rone, said the participation of the bank in the project’s preparation stage would play a significant role in de-risking this landmark activity being promoted by UTM Offshore, fast-tracking the fund-raising process and project implementation.
