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More Nigerian investors can now obtain offshore credit facilities to construct modular refineries in the country as three indigenous investors begin to separately invest a total sum of $429.5 million (N50.25 billion) in the construction of such refineries in Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa and Edo states, with a combined capacity of 42,000 barrels spread across the next four years.
The funds are being sourced mainly from U.S banks.
Patrick Fournie, senior advisor of FinancialBridge Inc, a U.S based consulting firm packaging offshore funding for the three projects, disclosed to BusinessDay that more funds can now be sourced for serious Nigerian refinery investors, from U.S banks.
According to him, the U.S Ex-Im Bank had approved a $1 billion facility to guarantee Nigerian projects and only 20 percent of that facility, $200 million, had been accessed so far. 
Under the US Ex-Im Bank guarantee programme, the promoter is required to provide statutory equity contribution of 15 percent of U.S cost content, while the U.S lender funds 85 percent of the U.S cost content, utilising the comprehensive credit guarantee of the Ex-Im Bank.
Nigeria presently has a total refining capacity of 445,000 barrels, which is government owned, but with most of the capacity unavailable to meet production targets most of the time.
All the three investors, Amakpe Refinery, Rehoboth Refinery and Ologbo Refinery, have secured their sources of funding and Amakpe and Rehoboth especially have already been granted licenses to construct and establish refineries respectively by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
The third company, Ologbo, is also in the process of being granted the license to establish.
Amakpe Refinery, meanwhile, is already constructing a modular refinery at Ikot Usekong- Eket in Akwa Ibom State, with the cost of phase 1 of the project put at $53.7 million and the second phase, $57 million. The first phase of the project, which is estimated to produce 6,000 bpd, is expected to come on stream by October 2009 after which the second phase will commence.
The Amakpe Refinery is being funded with loans from a U.S lender, UPS Capital Business Credit of Windsor, and the loan is guaranteed by US Ex-Im Bank and Nigeria’s Sterling Bank. The project is also being funded by equity contributions from Shareholders.
For the Rehoboth Refinery Project, the U.S lender, M&T Bank, Baltimore, Maryland, is initially giving $28.1 million for the phase one of the project while equity from shareholders and private investments make up the total funding of $53.3 million. The loan is guaranteed by US Ex-Im Bank and First City Monument Bank in Nigeria. The second phase however, is expected to cost $68 million. 
The funding of the Ologbo Refinery project, estimated to cost $197.3 million is also being packaged by FinancialBridge and Fournie. The U.S lender, Sovereign Bank is providing the $80.9 million initial facility, while Oceanic Bank will provide guarantee.