"This financing of $ 200 million or 111,700,000,000 FCFA of the first pan-African group of financial services to the oil sector of Nigeria comes at the right time for the post-Covid economic growth," reports a statement of the said group of which Fratmat.info received a copy.

The group is acting as an agent bank for Nigerian commercial banks under the $1.5 billion facility to boost oil production and Nigerian government revenues.

Commenting on this support for the Nigerian oil industry, Uba Group Chairman Tony O. Elumelu said: "We are living through one of the most economically challenging years Nigeria has ever known. With the sharp decline in the price of oil and the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the private sector must combine its efforts and contribute significantly to the economy. This ease is clear proof of this." His structure supports investments that will significantly improve Nigeria's production capacity.

In doing so, it also demonstrates the strength, depth and sophistication of our commercial banking capability. "I believe that together, by working with governments, we can create more jobs and more wealth for people, not only in Nigeria, but across Africa," he argued.

It should be noted that the $1.5 billion facility is structured in tranches. The first $1 billion, repayable over five years, will be paid in dollars. The second tranche of $500 million will be set up in local currency, payable over seven years, with Uba acting as a facility agent bank, which will provide the equivalent of $200 million in naira. It should be noted that the deu facilities will be reimbursed on an allocation of 30,000 barrels per day of crude oil from the state-owned oil company, NPDC.

Other participants in the agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are Standard Chartered Bank, Afreim Bank, Union Bank and oil trading companies Vitol and Matri.

It should be noted that UBA has a strong track record in the resource sector across Africa, having facilitated oil prepayment agreements with NNPC, including its $100 million stake in 2013 in the PXF Funding Limited transaction, and an additional $60 million in the 2015 transaction with Phoeni Eport Funding Limited. In Senegal, UBA is the €240 million renewable crude oil finance bank for the Société africaine de raffinage and in Congo Brazzaville it co-financed orion Oil Limited's $250 million crude oil prepayment facility.