Heirs Energy has secured a $750 million financing package from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
The deal is designed to propel the indigenous energy company into a new phase of growth and lift its oil and gas production to about 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 250 million cubic metres of gas.
The financing agreement was signed on Saturday in Abuja, marking one of the most significant recent commitments of African capital to an African-owned energy business.
The facility is expected to strengthen Heirs Energy’s upstream operations while supporting Nigeria’s broader push for energy sufficiency and industrial growth.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, described the transaction as a strong signal of confidence in African enterprises and institutions, praising Afreximbank for its role in backing large-scale indigenous projects.
“The most impactful and catalytic finance institution in Africa is Afreximbank. They have grown the capacity and the boldness to support African businesses,” Elumelu said.
He noted that the journey to scale Heirs Energies had been shaped by trust from financial partners and a strong emphasis on performance.
According to him, Afreximbank played a defining role from the early stages and has now returned to support the company’s next level of expansion.
“For Afreximbank and others to come together and say, okay, we can restructure this, give you more room to do other things, it comes back again to Afreximbank. They started it, and they are now coming again to scale us to the next level. This is a clear manifestation of African capital working for African businesses,” he said.
Elumelu also stressed that private sector leaders have a responsibility to deliver results when supported by financial institutions. “When financial institutions support you, the least you owe them is your performance. If you perform, you demonstrate and encourage them to do more for you and for others also,” he said, adding that even during periods of severe oil theft, the company never defaulted on its obligations.
Reflecting on the early struggles surrounding the acquisition of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17, Elumelu recounted the regulatory and financial hurdles Heirs Energy had to overcome. He disclosed that the acquisition faced prolonged delays under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, partly due to concerns that the asset was too large for private sector ownership.
“Our government, led by President Buhari, refused to approve it. And the reason was that it was too big an asset to be in the hands of the private sector, forgetting that Shell was an international private sector entity that held this,” he said. Nation
