Afreximbank backs Nigerian-owned FLNG project

Bank has made a preliminary agreement to help fund scheme

African multilateral financial institution Afreximbank has signed a “head of terms” agreement with private Nigerian player UTM Offshore for “project preparation facility [PPF] financing” for a Nigerian-owned floating LNG development. UTM is planning a 1.2mn t/yr facility with 200,000m³ of storage capacity, to be located 60km off the coast of Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom state. The PPF appoints Afreximbank as mandated lead arranger to raise funding and is intended to reduce risk and quicken progress “towards bankability”. Afreximbank is also the project’s financial advisory mandate. The bank says the deal is part of its “ongoing support” for UTM’s fundraising efforts. It emphasises that the project wo