The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited paid N686.94bn in interest on its forward sale agreements in 2025, representing a 171.4 per cent increase from the N253.14bn paid under the arrangements in 2024.

The sharp rise in interest payments came as the company significantly increased its use of forward sale agreements, with additional drawdowns almost doubling during the year, according to an analysis of the company’s 2025 audited financial statements on Monday.

The forward sale arrangements, which allow the company to receive funds or value against future crude oil supplies, had outstanding contract liabilities of N7.10tn as of December 31, 2025, up from N4.98tn a year earlier.

This means the liabilities increased by N2.13tn, or 42.7 per cent, in one year. The figures also showed that NNPC’s interest payments increased by N433.80bn in 2025, despite the company making substantially higher principal repayments during the year.

In 2025, NNPC made principal repayments of N2.76tn, compared with N942.08bn in 2024. This represents an increase of N1.82tn, or 192.7 per cent. In simple terms, the figures show that “NNPC borrowed more through forward-sale arrangements than it repaid during the year.” The company recorded N5.57tn in additional drawdowns, compared with N2.76tn in principal repayments.

However, the additional drawdowns made during the year were significantly higher than the repayments. NNPC recorded N5.57tn in additional drawdowns in 2025, compared with N2.81tn in 2024. The amount therefore rose by N2.76tn, or 98.4 per cent, year-on-year.

The combination of new drawdowns and other movements pushed the outstanding forward-sale obligations higher despite the increase in principal repayments.

The financial statements also showed that the premium attached to the contract liabilities increased sharply to N666.66bn in 2025, from N249.38bn in 2024. That represents an increase of N417.28bn, or 167.3 per cent.

The premium represents an additional amount recognised on the contract liabilities, while the interest payments represent the financing cost settled during the year. That means “the cost attached to the forward-sale liabilities rose far faster than the outstanding obligation themselves.”

A major change in the portfolio was the emergence of Project Leopard, which had no outstanding balance at the beginning of 2024 but ended 2024 with N1.26tn. In 2025, an additional N4.83tn was drawn under the project.

After a principal repayment of N420.81bn, a premium of N340.21bn, an interest payment of N305.49bn and a translation difference of N325.27bn, Project Leopard closed 2025 with a liability of N5.38tn.

The N5.38tn balance represented about 75.7 per cent of NNPC’s entire N7.10tn forward-sale contract liabilities at the end of 2025. Project Panther, another major arrangement, closed 2025 with N929.88bn, compared with N912.91bn in 2024, an increase of N16.97bn, or 1.9 per cent.

The NLNG SPDC arrangement fell from N637.88bn to N609.24bn, a decline of N28.64bn, or 4.5 per cent, while the NLNG TEPNG liability dropped from N435.43bn to N184.82bn, representing a reduction of N250.61bn, or 57.6 per cent.

Project Yield recorded one of the biggest changes. Its liability stood at N1.46tn at the end of 2024 but was fully extinguished by December 2025 after principal repayments of N1.52tn during the year.

The company also transferred N265.73bn from DSDP and other customer-related contract liabilities to trade customers in 2025. This was higher than the N211.46bn transfer recorded in 2024 by N54.28bn, or 25.7 per cent.

Another notable movement was the translation difference, which swung from a positive N1.18tn in 2024 to a negative N394.08bn in 2025. This represents a deterioration of about N1.57tn between the two years.

Overall, the closing contract liabilities increased from N4.98tn in 2024 to N7.10tn in 2025, despite the company making nearly three times as much in principal repayments and substantially increasing its interest payments.

The figures underline the growing financial weight of NNPC’s forward sale arrangements as the national oil company continues to use crude-backed transactions to raise funding and meet its financial obligations.

Unlike conventional short-term trade transactions, forward sale agreements can create significant future delivery obligations because funds or other consideration are received before the underlying crude oil is supplied. The resulting contract liabilities are therefore carried on the company’s books until the obligations are settled through crude deliveries, repayments, transfers or other recognised adjustments.

Recently, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bashir Ojulari, said that the company had adopted a new payment model for refinery rehabilitation, decrying the previous model of paying with crude oil, which he said was causing financial leakages for the company.

Ojulari disclosed this during a media parley, explaining that paying for the refineries’ repair with crude oil did not yield any net positive outcome. According to Ojulari, the company funded every contractor and financial structure itself, yet none of the partners held any stake in the refinery’s actual performance.

He said, “What we have learned from the past rehabilitations of the refineries was multiple, but I’ll remind you again of the two of them that I’ve always talked about. One was that the model we have used before meant that we would incentivise people who work on the refinery, and there was no skin in the game.

“We paid for contractors, we paid for financing, we structured and paid for everything we pay for, right? And then none of those parties that were working with us had a stake in the performance of the refinery after their work. It’s very simple. How do we pay? We pay with our crude.

“Last year we stopped that. Part of the revenue you’ve seen in 2025 was part of the leakages that we stopped. It was money going in that was not bringing net positive outcomes. So by stopping that leakage last year, that revenue, both the crude and the extra money we’re spending has come into what that was pulling together to report.”

The World Bank Group has disclosed plans to mobilize up to $5.79bn in private financing for Nigeria in the 2026 fiscal year to support investments in telecommunications, agriculture, small businesses and other critical sectors of the economy.

The initiative is expected to expand broadband access, improve agricultural productivity, increase credit availability for businesses and support the creation of about 850,000 jobs.

The bank disclosed this in a report published on its website on Sunday, titled Unlocking $5.79bn in Private Financing: The World Bank Group Is Leading the Charge for Private Capital Mobilisation in Nigeria.

“In fiscal year 2026, the World Bank Group is helping mobilise up to $5.79bn in private financing to address these barriers,” the report stated.

It explained that the financing initiative would combine policy reforms, commercial investments and risk-sharing arrangements involving the World Bank, International Finance Corporation and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.

The institution linked the investment drive to economic reforms introduced in Nigeria since mid-2023, particularly changes in foreign exchange management, fuel subsidies and public finances.

It noted that the reforms, supported partly through its RESET and NAIJA development policy financing programmes, were improving conditions for private investment.

“Further reforms aim to deepen capital markets, expand digital trade, enable greater private participation in electricity, and improve competitiveness,” the report added.

A major component is the Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth project, which is expected to attract at least $156m in private equity during its first investor selection round.

Subsequent financing rounds could unlock up to $1.1bn by 2030 to develop a nationwide fibre-optic network. The project is expected to extend broadband access to an additional 58 million Nigerians, increasing coverage from 92 million people in 2025 to 150 million by 2030.

It will also target connectivity for 38,800 public schools, 16,900 health facilities and 3,400 local government offices. In agriculture, the bank plans to mobilise $242m through the Agricultural Value Chains for Growth project, targeting one million smallholder farmers.

The amount comprises $220m expected from agribusiness firms and $22m from certified seed producers. For small businesses, the Fostering Inclusive Finance for MSMEs in Nigeria programme is expected to attract nearly $1.89bn in private financing and support more than 250,000 enterprises.

Backed by a $500m financing package from the World Bank’s lending institutions, the programme could generate approximately 850,000 direct and indirect jobs, with 30 per cent of financing targeted at women-led businesses.

The report also disclosed that the IFC helped mobilise $1.02bn for Dangote Industries Limited and $282.5m for Indorama Fertiliser to expand domestic fertiliser production.

Together, the two projects have an annual production capacity of 6.8 million metric tonnes and are expected to improve access to agricultural inputs for over 10 million farmers.

Similarly, the IFC supported a $1.2bn bond issuance by IHS Towers, helping attract more than $1.1bn from private investors for telecommunications infrastructure.

The bank stressed that the financing arrangements were intended to attract greater private participation in Nigeria’s development. “Together, these reforms, platforms, guarantees, and investments are helping mobilise up to $5.79bn in private financing in fiscal year 2026,” it stated.

The institution added that the impact would ultimately depend on improvements in infrastructure, business financing, agricultural productivity and employment opportunities.

Equities trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited closed on a lower note on Monday, as the benchmark Monetary Policy Rate remained fixed at 23.00 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Market data from the trading session showed that total market capitalisation settled at 160,852,829,571,649.00 Naira, while the benchmark All Shares Index retreated to close at 247,736.24 points.

Throughout the preceding weekly trading period, market indicators fluctuated between a peak index point of 250,273.50 and a low of 247,736.24, bringing the period’s average index point to 248,902.51. Market-wide activity counters recorded a total of 52,891 deals, with investors exchanging a cumulative volume of 405,359,288 securities across all active boards.

Sector performance metrics mirrored the broader market downturn. The NGX Main-Board Index slipped to 10,751.25, the NGX 30 Index contracted to 9,114.65, and the NGX Banking Index dipped to 2,567.52.

Additional performance data indicated that the NGX Pension Index closed lower at 12,892.22, the NGX Insurance Index adjusted to 1,082.56, and the NGX Consumer Goods Index managed a marginal close at 4,035.46 points.

Meanwhile, industrial goods maintained relative resilience as the NGX Industrial Index closed at 10,442.78, while the NGX Oil and Gas Index closed the session at 5,993.51.

Individual equities recorded diverse transactional volumes and price movements across various high-cap segments. Premium board heavyweights saw MTN Nigeria Communications Plc trade at 844.00 Naira with a total volume of 1,769,623 shares, while Dangote Cement Plc exchanged hands at a price of 1,066.70 Naira.

Seplat Energy Plc maintained active trading at N16,000.10 with 52,474 shares traded. Financial services counters continued to attract high market liquidity, highlighted by Zenith Bank Plc trading at N129.00 with a heavy volume of 27,980,069 shares, and Access Holdings Plc recording a share price of N28.25 alongside 33,283,797 units changing hands.

Broader asset categories, encompassing fixed-income debt securities, exchange-traded products, and collective investment mutual funds, sustained their regular scheduled listings and pricing evaluations in line with official market summaries.