Nigeria's state owned oil giant on Tuesday said it was ready to collaborate with any financial institutions willing to finance its critical projects.

This was made known during a meeting between managements of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Abuja.

Mele Kyari, NNPC's group managing director, who received the delegation, said the critical projects were refineries rehabilitation and downstream infrastructure including pipelines.

Kyari said the corporation was open to financial and technical partnership with reputable financial institutions like the Afreximbank to develop the industry.

"We have a number of financing needs, it depends on how much you are bringing to the table. We need support particularly in refineries rehabilitation, depot optimization and pipelines financing," he said.

He assured the team of his readiness to work with the bank.

Afreximbank's vice president Anthony Kamel said the bank's management thought it imperative to interact with NNPC, being a key player in one of the most viable sectors of the Nigerian economy which is the largest in Africa.

He added that the visit was also to seek collaboration on ways to further grow the oil and gas sector.

Kamel also expressed interest in participating in some other projects like the Ajaokuta-Kaduna- Kano (AKK) pipeline system.