Shell, Local Banks Offer $3B Credit Scheme to Nigerian Contractors
Shell PLC and nine Nigerian banks have launched a $3-billion Contract Finance Facility for local companies executing projects for the British energy giant in the West African country.
The facility is backed by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co Ltd (SNEPCo), Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, First City Monument Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank, United Bank for Africa and Zenith Bank.
"The initiative reflects the spirit of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, which is aimed at in-country value retention", SNEPCo managing director Ronald Adams said in a statement. "Our partner banks offer capital and discipline. SNEPCo brings contracts and domiciliation of payments that de-risk lending". The scheme is offered in naira and dollars.
Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria chair Wole Ogunsanya said the financing support is a "gateway to unlocking contractor financing issues which will also drive efficiency in contract execution".
The statement noted, "Early this year, 43 wholly Nigerian companies took part in the turnaround maintenance exercise at the Bonga Floating Production and Offloading (FPSO) vessel out of the total of 53 companies involved".
Shell has refocused its investment in Nigeria into the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) and deepwater sectors after selling its onshore subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd, last year to a local consortium for $1.3 billion.
In the offshore Bonga field, operator Shell has raised its stake to 65 percent after acquiring 10 percent in Oil Mining Lease 118 from TotalEnergies SE last year. Put into production 2005, Bonga has a capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), according to Shell.
In 2024 Shell greenlighted the Bonga North project, which will add 110,000 bopd of production by 2030 via tieback to the Bonga FPSO. Bonga North holds estimated recoverable resources of over 300 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to Shell.
In 2025 Shell made another final investment decision to develop the HI field, in which it owns 40 percent, to supply up to 350 million standard cubic feet of natural gas a day to Nigeria LNG. At Nigeria LNG, which has a declared capacity of 22 million metric tons LNG a year, Shell owns 25.6 percent.
"The increase in feedstock to NLNG, via the train VII project that aims to expand the Bonny Island terminal’s production capacity, is in line with Shell's plans to grow its global LNG volumes by an average of four to five percent per year until 2030", Shell said in a news release October 14, 2025.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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