The agreement was signed by UTM Offshore CEO Julius Rone and Afreximbank Executive VP: Finance, Administration & banking Services Denys Denya in Ghana in late June 2023.

Representing the first-ever FLNG facility deployed in the country, the agreement will see Afreximbank provide financing for a portion of the project preparatory activities. The multilateral financial institution will leverage its diverse portfolio to provide end-to-end solutions for the construction of the project, with the committed capital de-risking the project and advancing it to bankability.

In addition to providing funding for the project preparatory facility, Afreximbank serves as Lead Financer, and as such, “has been appointed as the Financial Advisory and is to be appointed Mandated Lead Arranger once the project attains bankability,” according to a press release issued by Afreximbank.

The statement added that, “through its Financial Advisory Mandate, Afreximbank has been playing an instrumental role in structuring the transaction to ensure optimal returns and debt sizing, as well as identifying equity investors to invest in the project on favorable terms.”

The FLNG facility will be situated in Block OML 204, offshore Nigeria. The Front-End Engineering Design contract was signed in November 2022.