Oando deepens upstream investment with $375m financing deal from Afeeximbank, Mercuria

OANDO Plc has announced that its upstream subsidiary, Oando Oil Limited, has successfully increased its reserve-based loan facility by $375 million following capital injection from Afreximbank and Mercuria.

According to a disclosure filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), and signed by the company secretary, Ayotola Jagun, the refinancing of Oando’s reserve-based lending (RBL2) facility was led by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), with additional backing from Mercuria Asia Resources PTE Limited.

Originally secured in 2019 at $525 million, the facility was gradually paid down to $100 million by the end of 2024, allowing for refinancing and strategic repositioning.

The company stated that this fresh injection of capital would support its efforts to boost crude oil production.

“The refinancing will support the Company’s ambition to achieve 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 1.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas per day by the end of 2029,” the disclosure noted.

This development follows Oando’s acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited in 2024, a deal also backed by Afreximbank, and aligns with the company’s long-term strategy to scale production and operate with greater flexibility.

It will be recalled that in August 2024, Oando Plc successfully completed the acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from the Italian energy giant Eni, in a deal valued at $783 million.

This move was set to significantly strengthen Oando’s position within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector by expanding its operational footprint and boosting its upstream capabilities.

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) supported the transaction by providing a $650 million lending facility to Oando Plc as part of the overall acquisition package.

Reflecting the impact of the acquisition, Oando’s annual report for full-year 2024 revealed that crude oil production rose by 22 percent, while total daily output averaged 23,727 barrels of oil equivalent.

This increase in daily output likely contributed to improvements in Oando Plc’s top-line and bottom-line profitability, supporting the company’s ongoing operations.

In it’s recently published its audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024, Oando Plc reported a pre-tax profit of N383.8 billion.

This marks a sharp increase of 272.72 percent compared to the N102.9 billion recorded in 2023.

Total revenue for the year surged to N4.08 trillion, up 43.61 percent from N2.84 trillion in the previous year.

By region, international operations generated most of the revenue at N3.6 trillion, while Nigerian operations contributed N755.3 billion.

By product line, crude oil was the dominant revenue driver, followed by gas revenue and energy sales.

Oando’s total assets grew by 140.43 percent to N6.4 trillion, boosted by the full acquisition of NAOC.

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