African Export-Import Bank has unveiled a groundbreaking $3 billion financing initiative set to revolutionize Africa’s petroleum landscape by transforming the Gulf of Guinea into a global refining powerhouse.
The ambitious Revolving Intra-African Oil Trade Financing Programme aims to finance refined petroleum products purchased by African and Caribbean buyers exclusively from African refineries, creating an unprecedented continental energy ecosystem that could ultimately generate between $10-14 billion in intra-African petroleum trade.
“Instead of revelling in the misguided euphoria of being major crude oil exporters, we must now work to turn the continent into a massive refining hub,” declared Benedith Oramah, Afreximbank’s Chief Executive Officer, during his visionary announcement at Africa Energy Week.
The bank is already powering this transformation as the largest financier of Nigeria’s game-changing Dangote refinery, which began operations in January 2024, while simultaneously backing multiple refinery projects across the continent. Through strategic investments in Nigeria’s Port Harcourt, Bua and Azikel refineries, alongside Angola’s Lobito and Cabinda facilities and Côte d’Ivoire’s Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage, Afreximbank is creating over 1.3 million barrels per day in African refining capacity.
This initiative directly aligns with the African Continental Free Trade Area’s objectives to boost intra-African trade, accelerate industrialization, and create jobs across the continent.
Source: Africa Oil Gas Report
