Seplat Petroleum Development Company’s incorporated joint venture (IJV), the ANOH Gas Processing Company (AGPC), has successfully raised US$260mn in debt to fund completion of its ANOH Gas Processing Plant (ANOH)
The 300 mmscfd capacity ANOH plant, located on OML 53 in Imo State, is being built by AGPC, which is an IJV owned equally between Seplat and the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Seplat and NGC have previously provided a combined US$420m in equity funding and the project is now fully funded.
The US$260mn funding was provided by a consortium of seven banks: Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc (advisor), United Bank for Africa Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, FirstRand Bank Limited (London Branch) / RMB Nigeria Limited, The Mauritius Commercial Bank Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and FCMB Capital Markets Limited. It allows for an additional US$60mn accordion at the time of completion to fund an equity rebalancing payment at that time, if considered appropriate.
Funding commitments of more than US$450mn were received by the company, which is a significant oversubscription and a strong sign of confidence in the project.
Following a cost optimisation programme, the AGPC construction cost is now expected to be no more than US$650m, inclusive of financing costs and taxes, significantly lower than the original projected cost of US$700mn.
ANOH, one of Nigeria's most strategic gas projects, is set to help Nigeria to accelerate its transition away from small-scale diesel generators to cleaner, less expensive fuels such as natural gas for power generation.
Roger Brown, CEO of Seplat, said, "The ANOH development is one of the government's seven critical gas development projects and our involvement provides a clear path towards strengthening Seplat's position as Nigeria's leading indigenous diversified energy producer. It will help us drive, alongside our government partners, Nigeria's transition to cleaner, less expensive power generation. We are extremely proud to partner with the NGC in this strategically important project, which will create jobs and prosperity in the Nigerian economy."
