Project financing knits parts of costly LNG supply chain
- Mobil Corp., Fairfax, VA (United States)
The supply and distribution infrastructure of an LNG project requires project sponsors and LNG buyers to make large, interdependent capital investments. For a grassroots project, substantial investments may be necessary for each link in the supply chain: field development; liquefaction plant and storage; ports and utilities; ships; receiving terminal and related facilities; and end-user facilities such as power stations or a gas distribution network. The huge sums required for these projects make their finance ability critical to implementation. Lenders have become increasingly comfortable with LNG as a business and now have achieved a better understanding of the risks associated with it. Raising debt financing for many future LNG projects, however, will present new and increasingly difficult challenges. The challenge of financing these projects will be formidable: political instability, economic uncertainty, and local currency volatility will have to be recognized and mitigated. Described here is the evolution of financing LNG projects, including the Rasgas LNG project financing which broke new ground in this area. The challenges that lie ahead for sponsors seeking to finance future projects selling LNG to emerging markets are also discussed. And the views of leading experts from the field of project finance, specifically solicited for this article, address major issues that must be resolved for successful financing of these projects.
- OSTI ID:
- 479491
- Journal Information:
- Oil and Gas Journal, Journal Name: Oil and Gas Journal Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 95; ISSN 0030-1388; ISSN OIGJAV
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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