Industrial oil and gas facilities in Africa’s energy industry landscape.
Nigeria’s talks with Saudi oil giant Aramco over a record $5 billion oil-backed loan have hit a snag, as falling crude prices raise red flags among potential lenders. The deal, which would be Aramco’s first major financing in Nigeria, aims to bolster the country’s dollar reserves. However, growing doubts over Nigeria’s crude output capacity and repayment reliability are slowing progress. With oil prices dropping, the banks that are supposed to back the deal fear Nigeria may need to pledge more barrels to secure the same amount, increasing their risk, particularly if the country can’t meet its supply obligations. Nigeria is already using over 300,000 barrels per day to service previous oil-backed loans, although one of these loans will be paid off this month.
Nairametrics