Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR) has secured US$300mn to fund oil imports for its oil refinery.

The structured trade finance facility will be provided by the IFC, Société Générale, Standard Chartered and BNP Paribas. The IFC and Société Générale, which acted as co-arrangers, will supply up to US$100mn each, with StanChart and BNP providing the remainder.

“This facility will ensure that the company continues to provide the refined fuel essential for day-to-day life and commerce in West Africa,” says Georgina Baker, IFC’s director for global trade and supply chain solutions.

The finance will be principally used for the imports of feedstock fuel for the refinery – which the IFC estimates at around US$2bn worth of imports over two years – but will also be used to help SIR to regain access to international markets.

In 2010, the refinery was forced to declare force majeure amid a post-election crisis and resultant economic sanctions, hampering its ability to supply neighbouring markets.

Presently, the company supplies almost all the refined petroleum products in Côte d’Ivoire and also supplies Burkina Faso, Mali, and other countries in western Africa. It hopes to continue this presence and regain any market share that was lost during the 2010/11 upheavals.