AfrOil: Afreximbank, APPO aim to create new oil and gas financing avenue

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) are teaming up to establish a new avenue of funding for oil and gas projects in Africa.

In a statement, AEC said that Afreximbank and APPO had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a new pan-African energy bank during the CAPE VIII conference in Luanda on May 16. The document calls for the creation of a multi-billion-dollar institution capable of “scaling up private-sector investment in African oil and gas projects,” the statement said. This African Energy Bank will provide financial support for existing and new projects while also supporting initiatives all the way up and down the energy value chain, it added.

The AEC said the new institution would operate in a fashion similar to that of APPO’s Africa Energy Investment Corp. (AEIC), which channels resources into the continent’s energy industry. “In addition to ensuring capital is made available for African oil and gas, the bank will serve as a vessel for mobilising African-sourced finance,” the chamber said.