Ichthys LNG Project Completes Project Financing Arrangements

abarrelfull wrote on 19 Dec 2012 08:50
Tags: australia inpex lng

Latest News

• Want a weekly review of refining news?

• This Week in Refining
• RSS Feed

INPEX CORPORATION (INPEX) is pleased to announce today that the INPEX-led Ichthys LNG Project has finalized arrangements for US$20 billion in project finance* loans including those with eight export credit agencies (ECAs) and 24 commercial banks (ECAs and commercial banks are referred to as “Lenders”). The Ichthys project financing is the biggest project financing ever arranged in the international financial market.

The project finance credit facilities are comprised of direct loans from ECAs, ECA insured or guaranteed commercial loans, commercial loans from 24 commercial banks and senior sponsor loans from the Ichthys LNG Project participants. Direct loans from ECAs include US$5 billion direct loans from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and US$2.75 billion loans insured by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).

Details of Project Financing Arrangements:

• ECAs direct loans: US$5.8 billion
  • (JBIC, KEXIM, Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC; Australia))
• ECA insured/guaranteed commercial loans: US$5.4 billion
• Commercial loans: US$4.8 billion
• Total loans from Lenders: US$16.0 billion
• Sponsor loans US$4.0 billion
• Total of Project Financing Arrangements: US$20.0 billion

US$5.4 billion insured or guaranteed loans comprise of
NEXI (Japan), The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-sure), Atradius Dutch State Business N.V. (Atradius; the Netherlands), Euler Hermes Deutschland AG (Euler Hermes) and Compagnie Française d'Assurance pour le Commerce Extérieur (Coface; France)

Each of INPEX and the other Ichthys LNG Project participants will severally guarantee Lenders the repayment of the loans by Ichthys LNG Pty Ltd during the construction phase.

Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) will undertake a part of INPEX’s liability with respect to its portion of such guarantee, where JOGMEC’s liability is limited to US$2 billion.

The Ichthys LNG Project is the first case where the Japanese company is leading such a world-scale LNG project as an operator. The finalization of the project financing arrangements is a major milestone in ensuring the successful development of the promising Ichthys LNG Project that will contribute not only to a long-term stable supply of cleaner energy to Japan but also to a diversification of Japan‘s energy sources.

The participants in the Ichthys LNG Project appreciate the continued support from financial institutions, the local communities, the governments of Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory, as well as support from other stakeholders for timely delivery of the Ichthys LNG Project.

• Ichthys LNG Project Completes Project Financing Arrangements

---