Oando Plc has announced the successful upsizing of its Reserve Based Lending (RBL2) facility to $375 million, led by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with global commodities trader Mercuria.
The announcement comes on the heels of Oando’s $783 million acquisition of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from Italian energy giant ENI in August 2024, significantly expanding the company’s operational footprint.
The facility, structured around the company’s proven reserves—now at 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (Bnboe)—extends the loan’s maturity to January 30, 2029. Oando noted the upsizing reflects investor confidence, bolstered by the company’s progress in reducing its original $525 million RBL2 facility to $100 million by the end of 2024.
Group Chief Executive Wale Tinubu hailed the loan as a strategic milestone: “This working capital facility is a critical enabler towards efficiently extracting and monetising our resources. We appreciate the continued partnership of Afreximbank and Mercuria.”
Tinubu said the Oando-NEPL Joint Venture could generate over $11 billion in net cashflows over the life of its assets. He added that the newly secured capital would support key initiatives including accelerated drilling, infrastructure upgrades, and operational efficiencies.
The company aims to raise production to 100,000 barrels of oil and 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day by 2029.
Following the NAOC acquisition, Oando’s asset base now includes 24 producing fields, 40 exploration prospects, 12 production stations, nearly 1,500 km of pipelines, three gas plants, the Brass River Oil Terminal, and two power plants with 960MW total capacity.
Financially, 2024 marked a turning point for the company. Profit After Tax surged 267% to ₦220 billion, while revenues rose 44% to ₦4.1 trillion. Reserves nearly doubled to 983 million barrels of oil equivalent, driven by upstream growth and FX gains.
Oando also contributed $550 million to NNPC’s $3.3 billion Project Gazelle, a crude oil-backed finance facility structured by Afreximbank.
Despite a drop in capital expenditure from ₦45 billion in 2023 to ₦19 billion in 2024 due to the acquisition focus, the company signaled increased development activity in 2025. Production guidance for the year is set at 30,000–40,000 boepd.
Environmental targets remain a priority, with a 92% reduction in routine flaring achieved and full elimination expected by 2027. In clean energy, the firm launched 50 electric buses, covered 121,145 km in mass transit service, and avoided over 163,500 kg of CO₂ emissions.
Tinubu described 2024 as a “defining year” and said 2025 would mark a period of aggressive execution and value delivery.
