First Bank to sustain support for indigenous oil, gas operators- MD

The Chief Executive Officer of First Bank Nigeria (FBN) Ltd. Adesola Adeduntan said the bank will continue to assist operators in the oil and gas sector with the right financial support needed to efficiently grow the industry. 

Adeduntan said this at an Energy Finance Forum sponsored by the bank at the recently concluded Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja.

The FBN Chief Executive Officer, who was represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Public Sector, Abdullahi Ibrahim, told delegates at the summit that the bank had been supporting the oil and gas sector with funds through some of its products that provides finance for oil contracts.

The session, which had as its theme; “Financiers and the petroleum industry: Gaining mutual understanding to grow”, reviewed the regional and global cost curves and provided a unique opportunity for oil and gas, power, pipeline, infrastructure and construction industry executives, security analysts, portfolio managers, rating agencies and bankers to evaluate the outlook for the petroleum industry response to the funding and investment gap.

Adeduntans also noted that infrastructure finance was critical in accelerating development, adding that this underscored the need for an appropriate regulatory environment in attracting long-term investment to the oil and gas sector.

According to him, First Bank’s oil industry contract finance product was designed to meet the funding requirements of indigenous oil and gas companies who were either customers or prospects of the bank.

“This has been beneficial to operators in the sector and it has increased their profitability and impacted greatly on their operations over the years,” Adeduntan said.

He said the bank had been providing finance for stock of white petroleum products in the downstream oil sector.

According to him, FBN provides support to existing or new customers who are registered members of oil associations in Nigeria.