Caspian Pipeline Consortium to draw up to $500m for expansion project
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium and the group of banks signed on Tuesday an agreement on providing a loan not exceeding $500 million, Trend news agency reported referring to the consortium.
The loan will be sent to financing of the pipeline expansion project and will become a part of the planned expansion project budget of $5.4 billion. The funds will be lent by syndicate of international banks.
"We consider the loan as a reserve funding source in case of own funds shortage," CPC General Director Nikolai Platonov said.
The loan interest rate per year will amount to six-month LIBOR rate in U.S. dollars plus 2.65 percent, maturity of the loan is not more than 5 years.
The CPC pipeline system is one of the largest investment projects with foreign capital in the CIS. The length of the pipeline connecting the oil fields in Western Kazakhstan with the Marine Terminal in Novorossiysk is 1511 km.
The CPC Project was originally developed with a view to a
potential expansion of its capacity by 2.5 times up to 67 million
tons per year (76 million tons per year with DRA).
The Expansion Project includes the rehabilitation of five existing
and construction of 10 additional pump stations (two in Kazakhstan
and eight in Russia), six crude oil storage tanks near Novorossiysk
and a SPM at the CPC Marine Terminal and also the replacement of a
88km pipeline section in Kazakhstan with a larger diameter
pipe.
CPC Shareholders are: Russia (represented by Transneft - 24 per cent and CPC Company - seven per cent) - 31 per cent; Kazakhstan (represented by Kazmunaigaz - 19 per cent and Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC - 1.75 per cent) - 20.75 per cent; Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company - 15 per cent, LUKARCO B.V. - 12.5 per cent, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company - 7.5 per cent, Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited - 7.5 per cent, BG Overseas Holding Limited - two per cent, Eni International N.A. N.V. - two per cent and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC - 1.75 per cent.