The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has agreed a US$300mn facility with Trident OGX Congo to bump up crude oil production in the Republic of the Congo.
The reserve-based lending facility is expected to boost production from the Mengo-Kundji-Bindi II (MKB II) oil fields by 30%, Afreximbank says.
The facility will be used to “partially finance and kickstart a seven-year development programme on the MKB II permit area”, which is located between the port city of Pointe Noire, the foothills of the Mayombe mountains and the border with Angola’s Сabinda province.
Trident OGX Congo is a fully owned subsidiary of Singapore-based firm Trident OGX International. The country’s national oil company, Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo, and Orion Group are also shareholders in the oil fields.
“This important project, which promises to bring investment of about US$1.5bn into Congo’s oil and gas sector, will generate significant revenues that will enable the government to create more jobs and provide more socio-economic infrastructure for the people of Congo,” Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of Afreximbank’s board, said at the signing ceremony.
“We are also pleased that operations at the MKB II oil fields will be conducted in adherence with best practices of environmental standards, by hydraulic fracturing process,” he said.
Source : GT