KEY POINTS
- Tony Elumelu’s Heirs Energies won Best Oil and Gas Deal of the Year at EMEA Finance Awards 2026.
- The $750 million Afreximbank facility ranks among the largest financings ever secured by an indigenous African energy company.
- Heirs Energies has doubled OML 17 oil output to 50,000 barrels per day and tripled gas production since 2021.
Tony Elumelu’s vision for African capital backing African enterprise has just received its most prominent validation yet.
Heirs Energies Limited has won Best Oil and Gas Deal of the Year at the EMEA Finance Project Finance Awards 2026. The award, presented in London on June 3, recognised the company’s $750 million dual-tranche Senior Secured Reserve-Based Lending facility as one of the largest financings ever secured by an indigenous African energy company.
The facility was structured with the African Export-Import Bank, known as Afreximbank, and was designed to accelerate field development, optimise production and support the company’s long-term growth ambitions at OML 17, its onshore Niger Delta asset.
Heirs Energies Chairman Tony Elumelu has long championed the idea that African institutions and African-led businesses can mobilise capital to unlock the continent’s own resources. The award recognition puts that belief on the international stage.
What the financing was built to achieve
The $750 million facility combined two tranches under a Senior Secured Reserve-Based Lending structure, a financing model that ties borrowing capacity directly to the value of proven oil and gas reserves. Afreximbank served as the primary financing partner, positioning the transaction as a demonstration of pan-African capital at work in Africa’s upstream energy sector.
The facility was not purely financial engineering. It was anchored by Heirs Energies’ operational track record at OML 17. Since assuming operatorship in 2021, the company has more than doubled oil production to over 50,000 barrels per day and tripled gas output to more than 135 million standard cubic feet per day.
Recognition earned on the world stage
Heirs Energies CEO Osa Igiehon said the award reflects the confidence that African and international financial institutions continue to place in the company. “This recognition reflects the confidence that African and international financial institutions continue to place in Heirs Energies, our strategy, and our long-term vision,” he said. “The transaction demonstrates that indigenous African energy companies can successfully structure and execute world-class financing solutions that support investment, growth and value creation.”
Afreximbank Executive Vice President for Global Trade Banking, Haytham ElMaayergi, said the recognition highlights what Africa-focused financing can deliver. He described the deal as a compelling example of how well-structured transactions can support companies with strong governance, quality assets and clear long-term plans.
The EMEA Finance Project Finance Awards recognise outstanding transactions across Europe, the Middle East and Africa each year, with emphasis on excellence, innovation and measurable impact in structured finance. Heirs Energies contributes approximately 5 percent of Nigeria’s total oil production and an equivalent share of domestic gas supply.
