Shell, GT Bank agree $270 mln oil-backed loan to Nigeria's Amni

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Guaranty Trust Bankand a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell havegranted a $270 million loan to independent Nigerian oil and gasproducer Amni International, Amni told Reuters on Thursday.

The terms of loan will give Shell Western Supply and Tradingsole access to the 16,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil thecompany pumps in two fields off Nigeria's oil-rich Delta region.

Production at offshore fields, including Amni's Ima andOkoro/Setu, is difficult to maintain, but Amni said the loanwould allow them to further develop the fields. The company alsohas an offshore concession in Ghana.

"We are excited to work with GT Bank and Shell as commercialand financial partners to enable the realisation of Amni'sambitious plans for growth," Amni's Chief Executive TundeAfolabi said in the statement.

Shell and GT did not provide additional comment.

Bigger oil companies and trading houses often extendfinancing to smaller oil and gas producers in deals that allowthe financier preferential access to physical cargoes and givethe recipient companies the cash they can use to develop andmaintain their assets.

Earlier this year, Nigeria's Shoreline agreed a similar typeof deal worth $530 million with major oil trader Vitol, backedby several banks. The Nigerian government is also turning toprivate companies in an effort to finance everything fromrefinery upgrades to oil pipeline reconstruction.

(Reporting by Julia Payne and Libby George; Editing by AdrianCroft)