NNPCL, US Corporation, Exim Bank Seal Gas Deal

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd has opened talks with the United States Finance Corporation and Exim Bank to seek financing for its multi-billion-dollar gas projects.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, disclosed this at the Nigerian International Economic Partnership held in New York yesterday.

Kyari said: “Inclusion (in energy transition) means that we need to be supported. We are already talking to the US DFC, the EXIM so that they can give us financing and funding for our gas projects and this is very critical, so that we can have that flexibility to move forward and at the back of this.

“I’m sure some of you may be aware that today, we are getting a grant to build baseline carbon emission studies in our country by the United States Government and this is very helpful in the sense that Mr. President has also asked that we need to be supported. Currently, the major source of financing we are having is from the African Exim.

“Nigeria’s transition to net zero by 2060 requires enormous investments in gas projects which is the country’s transition fuel.

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

“It will cost $410bn to transit, according to the federal government and huge gas projects like the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 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 are there that we are doing also in the domestic market, increasing more gasses in the domestic market,” he said.