NNPC, IOCs seal multi-billion dollar oil financing deals

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and local arms of Chevron and Shell have signed alternative financing deals for key projects expected to boost Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves, improve power supply as well as support government’s effort to cut gas flaring.

The alternative financing of the Sonam Project (Project Falcon) was signed in London, NNPC said on its twitter handle on Wednesday.

The Sonam project which is a joint venture between Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) and NNPC is expected to deliver 215 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to the domestic gas market and produce a total of 30,000 barrels of liquids per day.

First production at the Chevron 40 percent-owned and operated project is expected in the second half of 2017.

“Signing on behalf of NNPC was the GMD Dr. Maikanti K Baru, while Jefferey Ewing (MD/Chairman CNL) signed on behalf of his company,” the tweet read.

NNPC didn’t mention the value of the deals in the tweets but a final investment decision worth around $1.7 billion was made in late 2011 for the development of the Sonam Field.

“The Sonam Project is expected to develop incremental proven oil reserves of 211mmbbls and proven gas reserves of 1.9Tcf within OMLs 90 & 91,” NNPC said.

“Also in London, NNPC signed an agreement for the Alternative Financing of Project Santolina,” the corporation added.

The deal (Project Santolina) with Shell Nigeria production arm, SPDC, is for “an accelerated upstream production comprising of 156 development activities across 12 Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) and 30 fields in the Niger Delta”