Afreximbank, Heirs Energy seal $750m oil and gas financing deal

Heirs Energy has secured a $750 million financing package from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

The deal is designed to propel the indigenous energy company into a new phase of growth and lift its oil and gas production to about 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 250 million cubic metres of gas.

The financing agreement was signed at the weekend in Abuja, marking one of the most significant recent commitments of African capital to an African-owned energy business. The facility is expected to strengthen Heirs Energy’s upstream operations while supporting Nigeria’s broader push for energy sufficiency and industrial growth.

Chairman Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, described the transaction as a strong signal of confidence in African enterprises and institutions, praising Afreximbank for its role in backing large-scale indigenous projects.

“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 that the journey to scale Heirs Energies had been shaped by trust from financial partners and a strong emphasis on performance. According to him, Afreximbank played a defining role from the early stages and has now returned to support the company’s next level of expansion.

“For Afreximbank and others to come together and say, okay, we can restructure this, give you more room to do other things, it comes back again to Afreximbank. They started it, and they are now coming again to scale us to the next level.

This is a clear manifestation of African capital working for African businesses,” he said.

Elumelu also stressed that private sector leaders have a responsibility to deliver results when supported by financial institutions. “When financial institutions support you, the least you owe them is your performance. If you perform, you demonstrate and encourage them to do more for you and for others also,” he said, adding that even during periods of severe oil theft, the company never defaulted on its obligations.

Reflecting on the early struggles surrounding the acquisition of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17, Elumelu recounted the regulatory and financial hurdles Heirs Energy had to overcome. He disclosed that the acquisition faced prolonged delays under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, partly due to concerns that the asset was too large for private sector ownership.

“Our government, led by President Buhari, refused to approve it. And the reason was that it was too big an asset to be in the hands of the private sector, forgetting that Shell was an international private sector entity that held this,” he said.

According to him, the delays came at a high cost. “We went for over one and a half years. We were paying bank charges, we were raising money, we were paying legal fees. Surviving on this continent is tough,” he said.

Elumelu explained that the initial transaction had to be unwound at significant expense before the company was allowed to proceed with only OML 17, after other assets such as pipelines and power plants were stripped out. He said Afreximbank stepped in once again to support the company at that critical point.

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“That’s how we started this journey. And I told my people, let us show that out of Africa, out of Nigeria, we can grow world-class businesses. We can grow an integrated energy company,” he said.

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

“Afreximbank is still working on the energy bank, so that we can move most of this energy portfolio there, that’s where it should sit,” Elombi said. “And we would put tremendous capital in it and support it to be as bold and innovative as Afreximbank itself.”

He warned that failure to support the energy sector would have severe consequences for many African economies. “If we didn’t support that sector, somewhere around 23 African countries would be in trouble. Congo, Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Algeria, Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, Senegal and others,” he said, adding that the bank is already preparing additional billion-dollar interventions.

Elombi stressed that Afreximbank’s identity as an African-owned institution underpins its resolve. “It’s an African institution. It’s owned by the African public and private sector. The rest is African. So where else should we go? We are condemned to be here in good times and bad times,” he said, noting that this permanence has strengthened the bank’s standing as a dependable partner on the continent.

Providing a detailed perspective on the transaction, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Heirs Energies, Samuel Nwanze, said the financing was structured to consolidate recent gains and unlock future expansion.

“This funding is meant to scale the company and take us into the next phase of growth. Currently, we are producing well over 50,000 barrels of oil per day and about 120 million cubic metres of gas. The financing is designed to help us build on this performance,” Nwanze said.

He explained that internal assessments show the asset’s capacity could reach about 100,000 barrels per day with the right level of investment. “What we want to do is secure the capital required to grow the business both organically and inorganically. This financing positions the company for that next phase of growth,” he said.

According to Nwanze, Heirs Energies is targeting production of about 100,000 barrels of oil per day within the next three years, alongside gas output of roughly 250 million cubic metres. He said the new facility would also support growth beyond OML 17 through opportunities across the market.

“We are an ambitious group. The core reason we are in the oil and gas business is to drive energy sufficiency for the continent,” he said, noting that while no specific acquisitions are being announced, the company remains open to assets that align with its long-term vision.

Nwanze disclosed that when Heirs Energies acquired OML 17 from Shell, Total and Eni, it raised about $1.1 billion, adding that most of that debt has now been repaid after nearly four years of operations. He said the decision to raise fresh capital followed a significant increase in the asset’s capacity.

The $750 million facility, he explained, is structured in two parts, including refinancing of existing reserve-based lending tied to production, as well as incremental capital for further expansion. The facility runs for five years under a standard reserve-based lending framework.

He said the impact of earlier investments is already evident in Nigeria’s domestic gas market. “When we took over the asset, gas production was around 50 to 70 million cubic metres per day. Today, we are producing about 120 million cubic metres,” Nwanze said.

He added that increased gas supply from OML 17 has boosted power generation across the eastern domestic gas network, enabling plants such as Geometric and Transcorp to operate at higher capacity.

“If we are able to continue growing the business, we believe we can make an even more significant impact on energy supply and sufficiency, not just for Nigeria but for the continent as a whole. That is our long-term vision,” he said.

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