The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said it has signed a 3.15 billion dollars Financing and Technical Services Agreement between Sterling Oil Exploration and other partners for the development of Oil Mining Lease 13.
The corporation disclosed this in a statement signed by Mr Ndu Ughamadu, its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said the other partners are Energy Production Company Limited and the exploration and production arm of NNPC, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company.
He said that the move was part of the quest by the NNPC to increase the nation’s crude oil reserves and daily oil production to three million barrels per day.
OML 13 is 100 per cent owned by the NPDC and is located in the eastern axis of the Niger Delta covering a total area of 1987km².
He said that the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, had described the funding arrangement as “a game-changer for oil and gas project financing in Nigeria”.
He expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari, for approving the transaction, adding that OML 13 held strong potential both for the petroleum industry and the nation’s economy.
Explaining the terms of the financing, Kyari disclosed that the Federal Government is expected to earn over 10.2 billion dollars in royalties and taxes from the project over the next 15 years.
Also, NNPC would earn over five billion dollars after payment of the entire financing obligation.
(NAN)
Be the first to comment