IFC Backs Aradel’s Refinery Expansion with $50m Funding
Aradel Refineries Limited, a subsidiary of Aradel Holdings PLC, has successfully closed a $50 million financing deal with the IFC – International Finance Corporation (IFC) to expand its modular refinery in Ogbele, Nigeria.
The funding, comprising a $35 million A-loan and a $15 million MCPP loan mobilized by IFC, will support the $140 million refinery’s expansion from a processing capacity of 1,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 11,000 bpd and includes the addition of sulphur hydrotreatment units to produce cleaner fuels compliant with international standards, according to Deals and Advisory Report.
Bloomfield LP advised Aradel Refineries, while Olaniwun Ajayi represented IFC.
Located near Ogbele in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, Aradel Refineries operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Aradel Holdings Plc. In August 2000, its predecessor, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Ltd (NDPR), acquired the Ogbele Marginal oil field (OML 54). Following the acquisition, NDPR established an oil and gas processing plant, achieving first production in 2005. Subsequently in 2010, the company commissioned the Ogbele refinery with an initial capacity of 1,000 bpd, occupying a compact 50m x 50m area within the existing processing plant.
The refinery, supplied with crude oil directly from the Ogbele Field, began operations on January 6, 2012, after receiving its first License to Operate from the Department of Petroleum Resources. Initially designed as a single-product diesel processing facility, it marked a milestone as sub-Saharan Africa’s first modular refinery.
In November 2017, Aradel Refineries launched a multi-product refinery expansion project, increasing capacity to 10,000 bpd through two 5,000 bpd trains. Designed and built by Chemex Global of Houston, Texas, the project was funded through a combination of company cash flows and debt financing from the Bank of Industry. That same year, Aradel Refineries Limited was established as a new subsidiary to manage all mini-refinery assets.
