Nogaholding Secures $741 mln Loan for LNG Terminal
Nogaholding, the investment and business development arm of Bahrain’s National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), recently hosted a dinner to mark the financial close of its LNG Terminal Project with Bahrain LNG WLL, the developer and owner of the first LNG receiving and regasification terminal to be developed on a public–private partnership (PPP) basis in the Middle East.
Dr Dafer Al Jalahma, CEO of nogaholding, said: "Led by K-SURE, this well-structured LNG regasification terminal transaction attracted high quality project finance lending of $741 million for a tenor of 20 years. This reflects their confidence in investing in Bahrain and further fueling growth of the energy development projects in the country.”
Jointly owned by the Oil and Gas Holding Company (nogaholding – 30 per cent) and a consortium consisting of Teekay LNG Partners LP (30pc), Gulf Investment Corporation (24.5pc) and Samsung C&T (16.5pc), the Bahrain LNG Terminal is a key component of the further expansion of the energy and related sectors of the kingdom.
Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Minister of Oil said in his speech: “The security and reliability of our gas supply is very important to us. The importance of Noga providing reliable and economic supplies of gas gave us a strong incentive to develop the LNG import terminal as a means of accessing the booming and increasingly competitive international LNG markets.”
Dr Dafer said: “We are incredibly proud of this significant milestone achievement. I would like to thank the partners of the consortium, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) and the lending banks for making this financing a great success. Against the backdrop of current economic market conditions, we are pleased to have successfully sourced finance for the project of this size and complexity.”
The LNG Terminal will comprise a Floating Storage Unit (FSU), an offshore LNG receiving jetty and breakwater, an adjacent regasification platform, a subsea gas pipeline from the platform to shore, an onshore gas pipeline and gas receiving facility, and an onshore nitrogen production facility.
The project will supplement local gas production to meet peak seasonal gas demand, industrial growth and procure internationally-traded LNG on a competitive basis. It is due for completion in early 2019 and will have a capacity of 800 million standard cubic feet per day.
It will be owned and operated under a 20-year agreement by Bahrain LNG. GS Engineering and Construction was awarded the EPC contract. Teekay LNG will supply the Floating Storage Unit (FSU) which will be modified specifically for this project, through a 20-year time-charter agreement.
