by The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has committed to using 272,500 barrels of crude oil per day as part of loan agreements worth $8.86 billion. This amounts to about 8.17 million barrels of crude each month being pledged to repay various loans.
According to reports from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and NNPCL’s financial statements, these loans cover multiple projects, including Project Panther, Project Bison, and Project Eagle Export Funding. NNPCL has already repaid $2.61 billion, but $6.25 billion is still outstanding.
One of the key deals, Project Panther, involves a joint venture between NNPCL and Chevron Nigeria, where 23,500 barrels of crude per day are being used to repay a $1.4 billion loan. Another deal, Project Bison, is linked to NNPCL’s acquisition of a 7.25% stake in the Dangote Refinery, with 35,000 barrels per day used to secure a $1.04 billion loan, which was fully repaid in June 2024.
The loans are part of a strategy to address the country’s financial obligations and improve its oil industry. However, challenges like oil theft and production delays continue to affect the sector. In 2023, Nigeria lost 110.66 million barrels of crude due to these issues, despite efforts to curb them.
The House of Representatives has recently directed NNPCL to halt new crude-for-loan agreements, especially as the company is planning to borrow an additional $2 billion to address debts owed to international traders.
President Bola Tinubu is also focused on stabilizing the country’s economy, with recent efforts including selling crude oil to local refineries in naira to ease the burden on the country’s foreign exchange reserves. NNPCL has started supplying 385,000 barrels per day to the Dangote refinery, with payments made in naira.
