The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) used N991bn worth of crude oil in 2024 to service part of its $3bn forward-sale loan from the African Export-Import Bank, according to its 2024 financial statement. The repayment formed part of Project Gazelle, a crude-backed financing deal created in 2023.
The loan originated from a $3.3bn emergency facility secured in August 2023. At the time, NNPC said the funding would help the Federal Government stabilise Nigeria’s exchange rate. The crude-repayment agreement required NNPC to deliver 90,000 barrels per day from Production Sharing Contract assets to the lender.
By December 2023, NNPC had drawn $2.25bn from the loan. Repayments began in June 2024, with the facility priced at 3-month LIBOR plus a 6.5 percent margin and 0.5 percent liquidity premium. Updated 2024 figures showed that N4.9tn had been drawn from a total N5.1tn limit, while crude lifts worth N991bn reduced the balance to N3.8tn.
NNPC’s statement noted that the funding was used to pre-pay future taxes and royalty obligations for Federation-owned crude handled under PSCs. The company did not disclose which firms lifted the crude or the exact delivery volumes remitted during the year.
Project Gazelle has since become one of NNPC’s most consequential oil-backed facilities, joining similar forward-sale arrangements that support cash flow, refinance debts, and stabilise government revenue amid weak fiscal buffers. The PUNCH previously reported that NNPC now carries crude-backed liabilities totalling about N8.07tn across major facilities including Eagle Export Funding (21,000 barrels per day), Project Yield (67,000 barrels per day), Project Leopard (35,000 barrels per day), and Project Gazelle (90,000 barrels per day). Combined, the commitments amount to 213,000 barrels per day, excluding gas obligations tied to the NLNG supply framework.
Analysts warn that these agreements claim a large share of Nigeria’s daily crude output, limiting export availability and reducing the volume generating fresh revenue for the Federation Account. Budget Office data showed that crude and gas gross profit fell by N824.66bn to N1.08tn in 2024, despite modest production improvements.
Oil and gas specialist Ademola Adigun attributed the earnings slump to opaque forward-sale deals and undisclosed repayment structures. He said a significant portion of Nigeria’s crude is already committed to loan settlements, with limited public transparency. Adigun urged the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to strengthen audits to determine how much crude is pledged to debt repayment and swap contracts.
