Afreximbank, MDGIF Sign $500m Deal to Boost Nigeria’s Gas Infrastructure and Cut Emissions
Nigeria’s gas sector received a major boost at the weekend as the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) signed a landmark $500 million Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The agreement, reached on the sidelines of the fourth Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025), aims to transform the country’s midstream and downstream gas infrastructure, create jobs and deliver cleaner energy for households and industries.
Under the four-year plan, both institutions will mobilise up to $500 million through a mix of senior debt and equity to finance pipelines, processing plants and other critical assets. Afreximbank, represented by its Director of Project and Asset-Based Finance, Helen Brume, and MDGIF Executive Director, Oluwole Adama, signed the deal with a clear focus on private sector-led delivery models. The MoU also includes support for feasibility studies, environmental assessments and risk guarantees to ensure bankable projects.
Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, Kanayo Awani, described the partnership as a “significant milestone” that aligns with the bank’s industrialisation agenda. MDGIF’s Adama said it would help Nigeria harness its vast gas resources under the Petroleum Industry Act and President Bola Tinubu’s economic growth agenda. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, who witnessed the signing, stressed that the collaboration will accelerate investment and generate a pipeline of viable projects.
The partnership comes as Africa prepares for a surge in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. According to Fitch Solutions, sub-Saharan Africa’s LNG shipments are projected to rise 174.5 per cent to 98 billion cubic metres by 2034, driven by Nigeria, Mozambique, Mauritania and Senegal. Nigeria’s own LNG Train 7 project, now 80 per cent complete, is expected to boost capacity by 35 per cent and cement the country’s role as the region’s top exporter.
Meanwhile, Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) is intensifying its drive to cut methane emissions, installing new technologies such as a boil-off gas compressor system to capture and reinject methane into the value chain. Managing Director Dr Philip Mshelbila told delegates at the 2025 Gastech Conference in Milan that NLNG has already reduced Nigeria’s gas flaring by more than 40 per cent and achieved Gold Standard status under the UN-backed OGMP 2.0 framework. He called for more financing and partnerships so other operators can follow suit, stressing that “no single player can solve this challenge alone.”
source: this day