LAGOS, Aug 4 – Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) has approved the refinancing of NNPC Limited’s oil-backed pre-export finance facility through a new $4.5 billion arrangement designed to strengthen the country’s external reserves and create additional fiscal space for infrastructure investment.
The new financing programme, known as Project Gazelle 2, will refinance approximately $1.5 billion outstanding under the original 2023 pre-export finance agreement while unlocking an additional $3 billion in liquidity, according to a statement issued by the Presidency.
The refinancing comes as Africa’s largest oil producer seeks to reinforce its foreign exchange reserves, support fiscal priorities and attract greater investment as the government continues implementing economic reforms under President Bola Tinubu.
Presenting the proposal to the National Economic Council, Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said the revised facility offers more favourable financing terms than the original agreement.
According to Oyedele, the volume of crude oil pledged under the facility has been reduced by 12.5%, from 90,000 barrels per day to approximately 78,750 barrels per day.
He said the revised structure would improve Nigeria’s financing framework while freeing additional resources for strategic national priorities.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who chairs the National Economic Council, stressed that the success of government policies should ultimately be measured by their impact on citizens.
According to Shettima, “Government policies are ultimately measured by their impact on food prices, healthcare, education and household welfare.”
The refinancing forms part of broader efforts by the Nigerian government to improve debt management, strengthen macroeconomic stability and ease pressure on the naira, while creating additional fiscal capacity to finance infrastructure and other development priorities.
