The National Economic Council (NEC) on Monday approved the refinancing of the $3.3 billion Project Gazelle Pre-Export Finance Facility through a new $4.5 billion facility known as Project Gazelle 2.

The decision was reached at the 159th meeting of the Council, held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima. 

It followed a presentation by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Taiwo Oyedele.

Under the new arrangement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will refinance the outstanding balance of about $1.5 billion from the original 2023 facility while unlocking an additional $3 billion in liquidity. 

The funds are expected to strengthen Nigeria’s external reserves and support fiscal and infrastructure priorities.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, disclosed the details in a statement. 

He noted that the Council recognised the importance of the additional liquidity for the federation and pledged its support for the initiative.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, Oyedele said the refinancing was structured on more favourable terms than the original deal. 

This includes a reduction in the volume of pledged crude oil from 90,000 barrels per day to approximately 78,750 barrels per day, a 12.5 per cent cut.

“The reduction in pledged volume translated directly into more crude available for the federation to sell and retain revenue from outside the terms of the facility,” Oyedele explained. 

“Under the new arrangement, an additional 11,250 barrels of oil per day for the federation will be released, while there will be a reduction in the pledged crude volumes by NNPC Limited.”

He described the deal as a dual achievement that improves access to liquidity on better terms while strengthening the country’s overall financing structure.

In his opening remarks, Vice President Shettima called for a responsive, scalable and data-driven social protection policy to tackle multidimensional poverty in Nigeria. 

He stressed that government policies are ultimately judged by their impact on citizens’ daily lives, including food prices, hospital conditions, school standards and family welfare.

Project Gazelle was originally arranged in 2023 as a pre-export finance facility secured against future crude oil sales. It was designed to provide dollar liquidity to support the naira and stabilise the foreign exchange market following the unification of exchange rate windows. 

The new Project Gazelle 2 extends and restructures that facility on improved terms. 

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