The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has announced the acquisition of a $3 billion crude repayment loan to prevent the Naira from further declining against the Dollar in the foreign exchange market.
In a brief announcement revealing the agreement, the NNPC stated that the commitment letter was signed at the headquarters of AFREXIM Bank in Cairo, Egypt, on a Wednesday. This commitment will empower the NNPC to assist the Federal Government in its current endeavors to implement fiscal and monetary policy reforms. These reforms are designed to stabilize the foreign exchange market and prevent further fluctuations in the exchange rate.
The statement indicates: “The NNPC Ltd. and @afreximbank have jointly signed a commitment letter and Termsheet for an emergency $3billion crude oil repayment loan.
“The signing, which took place today at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, will provide some immediate disbursement that will enable the NNPC Ltd. to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate market.”
In the previous week, the Federal Government announced a significant decrease of 13.6 percent in daily crude oil production during July. This decline has resulted in a considerable reduction in dollar earnings from crude oil exports for the country.
According to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the average daily production for July stood at 1.08 million barrels per day, in contrast to the 1.25 million barrels per day recorded in June. This information is based on the latest production data available.
The production figure for July represented a significant setback for the government, as it fell far short of its production goal outlined in the 2023 budget, which aimed for 1.69 million barrels per day. Additionally, the volume of production was notably below the 1.7 million barrels per day production quota assigned to the country by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This discrepancy highlights the challenges the government faces in meeting its production targets and aligning with international agreements