Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On April 28, 2023, Compañía General de Combustibles (CGC) signed a $96 million syndicated loan agreement with six banks -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Argentina), Santander, Citibank, Banco de Valores, Nuevo Banco de Santa Fe and Banco de Santa Cruz -- for unspecified purposes. The loan carries a fixed interest rate of 6.5%. The borrower is responsible for making five equal and consecutive quarterly repayments beginning on October 11, 2024 and ending October 11, 2025.
Staff comments
1. Compañía General de Combustibles (CGC) is an Argentine company founded in 1920 dedicated to the exploration, development and exploitation of natural gas, oil, and LPG (upstream) and gas transportation (midstream). It is engaged, on its own and through its subsidiaries, in the development, exploration and production of oil and gas and, to a lesser extent, liquefied petroleum gas. It has an important portfolio of exploration or production areas in various basins in Argentina, with its main operation located in the province of Santa Cruz. Upstream activities are carried out mainly by the company, while gas transportation is carried out through associated companies. CGC is present in the Austral, Northwestern, Golfo San Jorge, Cuyana, and Neuquina oil & gas basins in Argentina. Moreover, CGC has a stake in Termap, a port terminal operator in Patagonia. With respect to gas transportation, CGC indirectly owns 28.23% of Transportadora de Gas del Norte (TGN) through their investment in Gasinvest, which is co-owned with Tecpetrol. Likewise, CGC has a 40% stake in Gasandes Argentina, a 40% stake in Gasandes Chile, and a 15.8% stake in Transportadora de Gas del Mercosur (TGM). 70% of CGC’s equity is owned by Corporación América through Latin Exploration SLU, while the remaining 30% is owned by another Argentine conglomerate, Comercial del Plata. 2. The size of ICBC’s contribution to the syndicated is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes equal contributions ($16 million) across the six known members of the syndicate. This issue warrants further investigation. 3. Bomchil served as borrower counsel and Bruchou & Funes de Rioja served as lender counsel. 4. Some sources claim that the borrower was to repay the loan in five installments payable annually (implying a 5 year maturity rather than a 2.5 year maturity). However, insofar as CGC's financial statements cite quarterly repayments due between October 11, 2024 and October 11, 2025, the more official source has been deferred to.