The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a $US1.04 billion facility with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to finance the exploration of petroleum. The agreement was concluded yesterday in Durban during the second intra-Africa trade fair, which opened on 15 November and runs until 21 November.
NNPC will enter an FSA within which it shall deliver 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The proceeds of the facility will boost tax revenues and foreign currency receipts and create thousands of jobs in the oil and gas refining value chain, all by more than US$2.4bn to the immediate benefit of the government thereby improving the balance of trade and Gross Domestic Product in Nigeria – Africa’s largest economy.
While lauding the deal as very innovative, Afreximbank President and Chairman of the Board of Directors Prof. Benedict Oramah explained the Bank’s decision in the context of the world’s climate change agenda, saying this is a case of adopting a balanced approach.
Prof. Oramah added that Africa is more of a victim than a perpetrator in the emission of destructive greenhouse gases, contributing only a meagre 4%, while a majority of the Continent, ironically having been left behind development-wise, still has to depend on fossil fuel for survival, and should thus not bear the brunt of the punishment for the mistakes of others.
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade.