Trafigura has signed a USD 1-billion oil prepayment agreement with Gabon in exchange for exclusive crude oil offtake for a period of seven years, the company announced on Wednesday.
Under the deal, Trafigura will be the sole offtaker of Gabon’s profit oil, with the crude backing the prepayment coming from production across PSCs covering a diversified pool of producing assets and operators. Profit oil refers to the Gabonese government’s share of crude production after oil companies have recouped their costs.
“We are pleased to have signed this agreement with Gabon, continuing our long-standing trading relationship and contributing to the country’s development agenda. This milestone prepayment underscores Trafigura’s commitment to long-term collaboration with resource-rich nations and our ability to structure innovative, large-scale financing solutions,” said Dave Gallagher, global head of structured finance at Trafigura.
The deal builds on previous involvement by Trafigura in Gabon in the export of crude oil and the supply and export of refined products.
Thierry Minko, Gabon’s Minister of Economy, Finance, Debt and State Holdings, said the agreement “aims to optimise the country’s oil resources, strengthen the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank, and facilitate the proactive management of the nation’s treasury.”
The company said it has started a syndication among international financial institutions to distribute a portion of its exposure arising from the agreement.
Trafigura is a global commodities company that trades in oil, petroleum products, gas, power, metals and minerals. The company also operates industrial assets, including metals producer Nyrstar, fuel storage and distribution company Puma Energy, the Impala Terminals joint venture in Mexico and Greenergy, a transportation fuels and biofuels supplier.