TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited and Nigerian oil producer Amni International Petroleum Development Company Limited have secured more than US$1 billion in financing for the development of the Ima non associated gas field offshore Nigeria, adding a major financing component to the project following its Final Investment Decision. The funding provided is by Zenith Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, GTBank, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank. More than 75% of the financing is being provided by Nigerian banks.
The financing is structured around a receivables sale arrangement linked to a 15 year gas sales agreement with Nigeria LNG Limited. The financing will support the development and monetisation of the Ima field, which straddles OMLs 112 and 117 in shallow waters about eight kilometres from Bonny Island, Rivers State.
AMNI holds a 60% participating interest in the field, while TotalEnergies EP Nigeria holds 40% and is responsible for the technical development and operations of the field. The project has an estimated development cost of US$1.108 billion and is designed to produce approximately 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at plateau for about eight years.
First gas is targeted for the second half of 2028.
The financing structure is significant because the Ima gas reservoirs and AMNI's crude oil interests are located within the same oil mining licences. The transaction required a bespoke security structure that gives lenders security over the gas development and its associated cash flows without extending that security to AMNI's oil assets, financing arrangements or revenues.
At plateau, the field is expected to provide approximately 30% of the feed gas required for Nigeria LNG's Train 7, linking the financing directly to the expansion of Nigeria's LNG export infrastructure.
Nigeria LNG is expanding its liquefaction capacity through Train 7, with total capacity expected to rise to 30 million tonnes per annum from 22 million tonnes.
Parsons led by Dr. Gabriel A. Onagoruwa and Greg Khan acted as international legal counsel to AMNI and TotalEnergies on the financing,
Standard Chartered Bank acted as financial adviser to the sponsors. White & Case LLP and G. Elias advised the lenders as international and Nigerian legal counsel respectively, while Banwo & Ighodalo and CMS (UAE) acted as Nigerian and DIFC counsel to the sponsors.
The financing follows the September 23 Final Investment Decision on the Ima development. The Ima development builds on the longstanding relationship between AMNI and TotalEnergies in OMLs 112 and 117 and forms part of AMNI's broader strategy to expand its gas production portfolio.
With financing now secured and FID completed, the project moves into its execution phase ahead of the targeted second half of 2028 first gas.
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