The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has extended a $750 million senior secured credit facility to Nigeria’s Heirs Energies Limited, strengthening the company’s balance sheet and supporting its plans to expand oil and gas production as energy demand rises in Africa’s largest economy.
The financing, structured as a dual-tranche, first-ranking secured facility, is intended to optimise Heirs Energies’ capital structure and unlock working capital to fund its ongoing field development programme, the bank said on Monday. Afreximbank acted as mandated lead arranger, facility agent and security agent for the transaction.
The agreement was signed by George Elombi, President of Afreximbank and Chairman of its Board, and Tony O. Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Energies Limited.
Afreximbank said the transaction underscored its commitment to backing African-owned energy companies at a time when oil and gas remain critical to economic stability and power generation across the continent.
“Without investments such as this, many African economies that rely on fossil fuels would face severe economic challenges,” Elombi said, adding that the bank’s strategy centres on empowering African entrepreneurs through long-term partnerships.
He reaffirmed Afreximbank’s push to establish a Pan-African Energy Bank, which would house a significant portion of the bank’s energy portfolio and deploy substantial capital into the sector. Afreximbank has said the initiative is central to ensuring Africa retains control over financing its energy transition.
Elombi also noted that Afreximbank was open to expanding its collaboration with Heirs Holdings and its affiliates beyond Nigeria, including into Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and other West African markets.
For Heirs Energies, the facility marks another milestone in its growth trajectory. Elumelu described the deal as evidence that African capital, when deployed with discipline, can support large-scale African enterprises.
“This transaction reflects the journey of Heirs Energies from turnaround to growth,” he said. “It reinforces our belief that African capital can serve African businesses. Africa must finance the future of Africa.”
Heirs Energies plays a significant role in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which remains vital both domestically and internationally. The company’s partnership with Afreximbank dates back to 2021, when Heirs Energies, then operating as Heirs Oil & Gas, acquired a 45% stake in OML 17 through a $1.1 billion transaction financed by a consortium of international and local banks led by Afreximbank.
Afreximbank contributed $250 million to that earlier deal, one of the largest indigenous acquisitions in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Since the acquisition, crude oil production from OML 17 has risen from about 25,000 barrels per day to an average of 50,000 barrels per day, excluding associated and non-associated gas output. The company also commenced gas production at the Agbada non-associated gas plant in November 2021, months after taking over an asset that had been under development for more than a decade.
Heirs Energies is currently the largest supplier of gas to Nigeria’s Eastern Domestic Network, providing fuel to three major power plants that together account for roughly 15% of the country’s installed electricity generation capacity.
Afreximbank said the transaction aligns with its broader mandate to support Africa’s energy security, industrialisation and intra-African trade. As of December 2024, the bank reported total assets and contingencies of about $40.1 billion, with shareholders’ funds of $7.2 billion.
