Energean Secures Credit for Israeli Field
Greek upstream firm Energean Oil & Gas said March 5 that its Israel subsidiary has signed a $1.275bn loan agreement with four international banks to finance its Karish gas development project.
The senior credit facility – with US bank Morgan Stanley, France's Natixis and Societe Generale, and Israel's largest lender Bank Hapoalim as mandated lead arrangers – is "a key milestone in financing the development of Karish, part of the company’s flagship Karish and Tanin project," said Energean, adding that it will be the primary source of funding for the development of the Karish offshore gas field over the next three years, with first gas production expected in early 2021.
Energean said it also provides further momentum for it to make a final investment decision (FID) on Karish and Tanin.
Energean CEO Mathios Rigas said: "We are rapidly advancing the Karish/Tanin development by continually delivering on substantial project milestones. The participation of four international banks in the facility agreement is a strong vote of confidence in Energean’s flagship project. Long-term cash flow from Karish/Tanin has been secured through our previously signed gas supply agreements for approximately 4.2bn m3/yr with 12 established counterparties. Furthermore, Energean has signed a $1.36bn contract with TechnipFMC for the construction of an FPSO with a production capacity of 8bn m3/yr, potentially enabling us to take advantage of future production potential from our existing licences or adjacent fields to deliver gas to a rapidly growing regional market."
Energean chartered the Stena Forth drillship on January 29 2018 to undertake a three-well development drilling programme at the Karish field starting 1Q2019, subject to FID being taken on Karish/Tanin.
Rigas added that Energean is in the process of raising the equity required to develop Karish and Tanin through a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange’s main market, while also pressing ahead with expansion of its existing production and development base in the eastern Mediterranean, to deliver growth for the company.