African national oil companies (NOCs) are leveraging innovative financing strategies to advance oil and gas projects, ensuring continued investment despite shifting global energy markets. Through various innovative strategies such as privatization and divestment, bond issuances, development finance and resource-backed loans, NOCs are not only strengthening their financial capacity but positioning themselves at the forefront of African oil and gas development.

Privatization and divestment

Privatization and asset divestment have become crucial tools for African NOCs to streamline their operations and attract private capital. By selling stakes in non-core assets and partially-privatizing, NOCs are raising the much-needed capital to support oil and gas projects. Angola’s Sonangol, for example, has reaffirmed its plan to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO), with 30% of the company’s shares expected to become available. The IPO falls under the broader Propiv initiative by the government – aimed at reforming the economy toward a free market. The initiative will make 11 of Sonangol’s processes public through public tenders, limited tenders and IPOs.

Bond issuances and capital market financing

African NOCs are deploying a diverse range of financing strategies to ensure continued investment in oil and gas projects

With the need for long-term project financing, governments and NOCs have turned to international capital markets, issuing bonds to raise funds for large-scale projects. Bond issues originating from Africa exceeded $14.8 billion in Q1, 2024, as African business and governments tap into the international bond market. The Africa Finance Corporation acted as Global Coordinator for the issuance of a domestic dollar bond from the Nigerian government in 2024, raising $900 million. The first-of-a-kind issuance closed with 180% oversubscription, highlighting strong domestic investor confidence. Nigeria also issued a $1.7 billion Eurobond in December 2024, which was oversubscribed five-fold.

Joint ventures

Joint ventures (JV) have proven effective strategies for NOCs to raise capital, leverage foreign technical expertise while sharing financial risk across oil and gas projects. The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has committed to pursuing innovative JVs with Eni in 2025 and beyond to fast-track oil and gas projects. The country’s biggest oilfields - Jubilee and TEN - were developed through a JV between GNPC, Kosmos Energy, Petro SA and Jubilee Oil Holdings. JVs have served as a vehicle for Libyan oil and gas development. Mellitah Oil & Gas – a JV between the NOC and Eni – produced 403,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 while Akakus Oil Operations – a JV between the NOC and Repsol – achieved record production in 2025 with 306,000 bpd.

Development finance and resource-backed loans

Development finance and resource-backed loans have become vital financing mechanisms for NOCs, particularly as access to private capital for oil and gas projects becomes increasingly challenging. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has leveraged oil-backed loans to increase its balance sheet over the years and is currently seeking a new $2-billion structure to support production growth. The first $1 billion tranche has already been concluded with a second tranche in the works. Mozambique’s ENH leveraged development finance to fund its gas projects. Notably, the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project is expecting a $4.7 billion loan from the U.S.-Export-Import Bank to be re-approved. The project has already secured $3 billion in financing from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Meanwhile, Uganda and Tanzania’s NOCs are seeking an additional $3 billion in debt financing from Chinese lenders, specifically the Export-Import Bank of China and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, to fund the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.

“African NOCs are deploying a diverse range of financing strategies to ensure continued investment in oil and gas projects. From privatization and asset sales to bond issuances, joint ventures and development finance, NOCs are adapting to evolving market conditions while securing the necessary capital to sustain exploration and production,” states Ore Onagbesan, Programming Director, African Energy Chamber.