Signed by Ibrahima Bagarama, Regional Chief Operating Officer Central Africa, for Afreximbank, and John Chisholm and Olivier Okota, member of the Board of Directors and Director General of Trident OGX Congo respectively, the $300 million reserve-based lending facility will enable Trident OGX Congo to implement a capital expenditure programme to ramp-up crude oil production from the Mengo-Kundji-Bindi II (MKB II) oil fields.

Under the terms of the agreement, Trident OGX Congo, a fully owned subsidiary of Trident OGX International Pte Ltd, Singapore, will use the proceeds of the facility to partially finance and kickstart a seven-year development programme on the MKB II permit area located in the coastal plains between Pointe Noire, the foothills of Mayombe mountains and the border with Angola’s Сabinda enclave.

Upon completion of the field development plan, the transaction is expected to increase the Republic of Congo’s crude oil production level by up to 30 per cent and to add a considerable number of jobs to the country’s economy.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Afreximbank, reiterated the Bank’s commitment to supporting African businesses in accessing markets, capital, and technology. “Today is a remarkable day for the Republic of Congo, and its oil and gas sector in particular. Afreximbank is pleased to participate in this historic project with Trident OGX Congo and the Republic of Congo. This important project which promises to bring investment of about US$1.5 billion into Congo’s oil and gas sector, will generate significant revenues that will enable the Government create more jobs and provide more socio-economic infrastructure for the people of Congo. We are also pleased that operations at the Mengo-Kundji-Bindi II oil fields will be conducted in adherence with best practices of environmental standards, by hydraulic fracturing process. Our sincere appreciation to H.E. President Denis Sassou Nguesso, under whose vision the Republic of Congo as a Member State of Afreximbank, is benefitting from its support”, he said.

He noted that the current transaction would result in the creation of a significant number of new jobs in the Republic of Congo and would also open up many entrepreneurial opportunities for Congolese businesses, culminating in significant GDP growth for the country.

In addition to the Trident Group, Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo and Orion Group also have shareholding in the asset to be operated by Trident OGX Congo.

Also participating in the signing ceremony from Afreximbank were Dr. George Elombi, Executive Vice President, Governance, Legal and Corporate Services; and other officials of the Bank.

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About Afreximbank:

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries to effectively participate in the AfCFTA. At the end of 2022, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$31 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$5.2 billion. The Bank disbursed more than US$86 billion between 2016 and 2022. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure, (together, “the Group”).