Heirs Energies Wins Best Oil & Gas Deal of the Year at EMEA Finance Awards 2026

Heirs Energies Wins Best Oil & Gas Deal of the Year at EMEA Finance Awards 2026

Heirs Energies has been named Best Oil & Gas Deal of the Year at the EMEA Finance Project Finance Awards 2026, in recognition of its financing structure and operational performance in Nigeria’s upstream sector.

The award follows the company’s continued development of Oil Mining Lease 17 (OML 17), which it assumed operatorship of in 2021. Since taking over operations, Heirs Energies says it has more than doubled crude oil production to over 50,000 barrels per day, while gas output has tripled to over 135 million standard cubic feet per day.

The company now accounts for approximately 5 percent of Nigeria’s total crude oil production and around 5 percent of domestic gas supply, positioning it as a significant player in the country’s energy value chain.

In 2021, Heirs Energies secured the Africa Deal of the Year award from Project Finance International following its $1.1 billion acquisition of a 45 percent participating interest in OML 17, then the largest transaction of its kind on the continent.

The latest recognition was driven by its $750 million dual-tranche senior secured reserve-based lending facility, structured in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank. The financing arrangement was praised for enabling large-scale indigenous participation in upstream oil and gas development.

Industry observers say the deal reflects growing investor confidence in African-led energy ventures and highlights the increasing role of structured finance in unlocking domestic hydrocarbon potential.

The company described the achievement as evidence of “Africapitalism” in action—where African capital, institutions, and operators collaborate to develop local resources, expand production capacity, and create long-term economic value across the continent.

Heirs Energies Wins Best Oil & Gas Deal of the Year at EMEA Finance Awards 2026