The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has earmarked more than 186,000 barrels per day of its crude output to repay loans, with outstanding principal on three crude-backed financing deals now above N8 trillion, its 2025 audited financial statements show.
The deals are Project Gazelle, Project Leopard and Project Leopard II. Together they raised trillions of naira for the company against future production.
Gazelle, a five-year agreement signed in December 2023, commits 90,000 barrels per day. NNPC drew N4.9 trillion of the N5.1 trillion facility and had repaid N2.09 trillion by the end of 2025, leaving N2.81 trillion outstanding.
Leopard was a N3.05 trillion facility, fully drawn by February 2025. About N420 billion had been repaid by year-end, with N2.47 trillion outstanding.
Leopard II raised N3.03 trillion against 61,250 barrels per day. It was fully drawn by December 31, 2025, and no principal had been repaid. Repayment was due to begin in June 2026 after a six-month moratorium.
Gazelle and Leopard account for about N8.13 trillion of the financing.
NNPC had settled only N2.886 trillion of N12.083 trillion in total commitments across crude forward-sales, gas supply deals and upstream funding obligations as of December 31, 2025.
On upstream projects, only N44.98 billion of an estimated N1.54 trillion had been provided for OML 42. For OML 65, N13.93 billion had been drawn from a N957.65 billion facility. For OPL 809/810, NNPC had provided N88.16 billion of about N430 billion.
Under an incremental gas agreement with Nigeria LNG Limited, NNPC drew N535 billion of a N772 billion arrangement, with N312 billion (40.41 per cent) recovered. NNPC also has an uncalled capital commitment of N95.99 billion on its Afreximbank Class B shares.
Despite the obligations, NNPC reported a 33 per cent rise in profit after tax to N7.2 trillion in 2025, from N5.4 trillion in 2024. Revenue was N34.5 trillion. Remittances to the federal government rose 39 per cent to N22.3 trillion.
Crude and condensate output hit a five-year high of 1.77 million barrels per day, while gas supply reached a three-year high of 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day.
Separately, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest lender, is reportedly sounding out other international banks to take part of its exposure to Nigeria’s $5 billion financing, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the talks.
FAB would remain the principal counterparty. A source said the talks do not signal any plan to withdraw.
The facility is a total-return swap in which Nigeria posts naira-denominated government securities worth about 133 per cent of the amount financed. The federal government drew $1.5 billion in June.
Fitch Ratings warned in June that the structure could make Nigeria’s debt risks less transparent and complicate any future restructuring.
Nigeria’s public debt stood at N166.79 trillion at the end of June, made up of N91.59 trillion domestic and N75.20 trillion external.
SOURCE: LEADERSHIP NEWS PAPER
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