Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On January 18, 2022, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 18 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) — entered into a $3.484 billion USD syndicated term loan agreement with GIP Sharon Finco Pty Ltd. — an Australia-incorporated special purpose vehicle (SPV) wholly owned by United States-based infrastructure investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) — for the acquisition of a 49% stake in Pluto LNG Train 2. This term loan carried a maturity period of seven years and a final maturity date of January 18, 2029. BOC contributed $218.340 million USD and ICBC contributed $75.33 million USD to the loan syndicate. Record ID#101185 captures BOC's contribution. Record ID#101186 captures ICBC's contribution. In addition to BOC and ICBC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Mizuho Financial Group ($218.34 million USD), Natixis ($218.34 million USD), United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) ($188.34 million USD), Crédit Agricole Group ($218.34 million USD), HSBC Bank ($218.33 million USD), Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. ($218.33 million USD), Korea Development Bank (KDB) ($141.33 million USD), National Australia Bank Limited (NAB) ($218.33 million USD), Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) ($75.33 million USD), Banco Santander S.A. ($218.33 million USD), MUFG Bank, Ltd. ($218.33 million USD), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) ($218.33 million USD), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) ($218.33 million USD), Société Générale S.A. (SocGen) ($218.33 million USD), Standard Chartered Bank PLC ($165.33 million USD), and Westpac Banking Corporation ($218.34 million USD). The proceeds of this loan were to be used by the borrower to acquire a 49% interest in the second train of the Pluto LNG facility, Pluto LNG Train 2, in Western Australia from Woodside Energy. Pluto LNG is an onshore LNG processing facility located near Karratha in the northwestern Western Australia. Pluto Train 2 included the construction of a second LNG train, associated domestic gas processing facilities, and infrastructure and modifications to Pluto Train 1 to allow it to process gas from the Scarborough development; in total Pluto LNG Train 2 would be capable of processing about 1.5 million tons of Scarborough gas per annum and additional gas infrastructure with a capacity 225 TJ/d. Pluto LNG Train 2 would support the export of around eight million tons annually of LNG and 1 400 PJ of gas for Western Australia. On November 15, 2021, GIP entered into a $4.3 billion AUD ($3.2 billion USD) sale and purchase agreement for the 49% non-operating stake in the $7.6 billion AUD ($5.6 billion USD) Pluto LNG Train 2 from Woodside Energy; Woodside would retain a 51% stake and status as operator via Woodside Burrup Train 2 A Pty Ltd. The specific purchasing entity was Sharon Acquirer Trust, an investment entity owned by funds managed or advised by GIP. The acquisition was expected to complete in January 2022, after final investment decisions (FIDs) for Pluto Train 2 and Scarborough developments, approval by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), and execution of various approvals and the Scarborough processing and services agreement. The acquisition was completed on January 18, 2022.
Staff comments
1. There is evidence (via Tagmydeals "Pluto Train 2 LNG Project - Project Financing") that this loan was syndicated and that lenders including state-owned China Everbright Bank, DZ Bank, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Hua Nan Commercial Bank, and Taiwan Business Bank. This issue merits further investigation.