Aker secures US$100 million from AFC for development of offshore blocks

Aker Energy AS has said the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) had invested an additional US$100 million in senior secured convertible bonds that will be part of the financing for the development of the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (“DWT/CTP”) block in Ghana.

This brings AFC’s total bond investment to US$200 million.

In 2019, the AFC took up US$100 million convertible bonds issued by Aker Energy.

“We are delighted that AFC continues to support the development of the DWT/CTP block, said Karl Johnny Hersvik, Board Chairman of Aker Energy. The decision to double its investment is indicative of the viability of the project and particularly welcoming in light of recent trends in the oil and gas sector.”

The terms of the bonds have been re-negotiated and extended to mature in December 2026, with an option to extend by a further three years.

Aker Energy and its licensed partners have secured the FPSO Dhirubhai-1 for the first phase of the field development and are working to submit a revised Plan of Development for the DWT/CTP block before the 2022 summer.

“Our commitment to fast-tracking Africa’s economic development through strategic investments is unwavering, especially when we see opportunities in high impact projects such as the DWT/CTP project, said Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of Africa Finance Corporation.

“With the increasing dearth of financing for developing new oil and gas resources to tackle Africa’s significant energy deficit, we are convinced that timely investments such as this will be critical to helping African countries develop their natural resources and grow their economies.”

AFC is a multilateral finance institution created by African sovereign states to provide pragmatic solutions to Africa’s infrastructure deficit and challenging operating environment by developing and financing infrastructure, natural resources and industrial assets for the enhanced productivity and economic growth of African countries.

AFC has 33 African countries and three multilaterals as its members and has invested over US$9.8 billion in projects in 35 countries across Africa since its inception.

Arctic Securities acted as sole manager and financial advisor for the transaction. Aker Energy AS and AFC were advised by Norwegian law firms Schjødt and Wiersholm, respectively.