Nogaholding, the investment and business development arm of Bahrain’s National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga), has marked the financial close of its LNG Terminal Project with Bahrain LNG, the developer and owner of the first LNG receiving and regasification terminal to be developed on a PPP basis in the Middle East.

Held under the patronage of Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Minister of Oil, the dinner was hosted at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bahrain Bay.  

More than 150 guests attended including representatives from the management of the consortium, participating banks, members of the board of Bahrain LNG WLL, as well as senior management of nogaholding, and members of the press.

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 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 Al Jalahma, CEO of nogaholding, 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.”
“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.”

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.

For this project, K-SURE will provide commercial and political risk cover for approximately 80 per cent of the financing. Standard Chartered Bank, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), and the Korea Development Bank acted as lead arrangers.

A syndicate of nine international and regional banks is participating to fund this project.  The banks include: Apicorp, Standard Chartered Bank DIFC, Korea Development Bank, Ahli United Bank, Banco Santander, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, ING Bank, Natixis, and Société Générale. – TradeArabia News Service