Shoreline Lands $500m Qatari Deal to Boost Nigerian Oil Output

Kola Karim's Shoreline Natural Resources has secured a $500 million Islamic financing package from Qatar Islamic Bank to fund a drilling program for OML 30, one of Nigeria's largest onshore oil blocks. The goal is to increase production above 100,000 barrels per day by the end of 2027.

The money will go towards lifting output from the block, which has been producing between 45,000 and 70,000 barrels a day since Karim's group bought 45% of it in 2012. The new drilling push is expected to get the block past the target.

Islamic financing allows Qatar Islamic Bank to take a share of the asset or revenue instead of charging interest, tying what the bank earns to whether the wells actually produce. This structure has been adopted by the largest Islamic lender in Qatar, which controls roughly 43% of that sector and 11% of the country's banking market.