Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil are expecting proposals by the end of August from international, regional and local banks on a US$4.7 billion syndicated loan, backing the Barzan gas project.
The 16-year amortising loan totalling US$4.7 billion is split between a US$2 billion uncovered loan and US$2.7 billion of financing from export credit agencies (ECA), which includes a mixture of covered bank and direct lending, Reuters reported sources as saying.
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) and Italian export credit agency SACE are providing covered financing, while Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is providing direct lending.
Lenders are expected to come into the deal on minimum ticket levels of US$100mn.
According to a banker, roles and other ticket levels will be discussed in September once banks have sent their proposals to ensure that smaller tickets are not excluded, which is necessary considering the size of the loan.
Total project costs are around US$10 billion, which will also be funded through US$1 billion – US$1.5 billion in bonds and US$3.8 billion – US$4.3 billion in sponsor equity.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is acting as adviser on the financing.
