The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has released 700 million Eurobond to the development of the oil and gas sector.
Speaking in Lagos at the African Local Content Investment Forum with the theme: ‘Pan-African strategy towards sustainable funding of Africa oil and Gas projects, the Managing Director, Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, said the Eurobond was released last week.
Oramah who was represented by Afreximbank’s Director and Head, Advisory and Capital Markets, Mr. Ibrahim Sagna, observed that Africa has about 125 billion proven crude oil reserves and the hundreds of trillions of proven gas reserves, but regretted that over 600 million people of the continent’s 1.3 billion people were still without access to energy.
Oramah reiterated that the Afreximbank remained keen to supporting the industry to achieve its balance.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who was represented at the Forum by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Nasir Gwarzo, noted that Africa’s energy transition should be anchored on maximising fossil fuels utilisation and investment in renewable energy projects.
Sylva explained that Africa’s energy demand in 2035 would be 40 per cent higher than it is today, compared to the projected 10 per cent higher for global energy demand.
This growth, he said, would be driven by industrialisation, population and expansion in economic activities.
He added: “A holistic outlook of the continent’s oil and gas infrastructure requirements include upstream field development projects, pipelines, depots, terminals, refineries, petrochemical plants, and oil & gas research & development and training institutions all of which require huge funding.
“Countries that have promoted regional development projects have been constrained by funding. Examples include the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) the first transnational gas pipeline in the West African sub-region with the potential of creating 80,000 jobs and reducing greenhouse emissions by approximately 100 million tons.’’
