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Overview

Bank of China participates in $1.75 billion syndicated loan for One Guyana FPSO Project in 2022

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$110,240,565
Commitment Year•2022Country of Activity•GuyanaDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•United KingdomSector•EnergyFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Implementation

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Jul 21, 2022
Start (actual)
Oct 1, 2022
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Jul 19, 2028

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Funding agencies

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Bank of China (BOC)

Cofinancing agencies

Private Sector

  • ABN AMRO Bank NV
  • CaixaBank, S.A. (Formerly Criteria CaixaCorp)
  • Citibank, N.A.
  • Clifford Capital Pte. Ltd. (CCPL)
  • Credit Agricole S.A. (Crédit Agricole Group)
  • DNB Bank ASA (formerly DnB NOR ASA)
  • Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING Group)
  • Intesa Sanpaolo S.P.A. (formerly Cariplo/Banca Intesa/BCI)
  • Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
  • MUFG Bank, Ltd. (Formerly Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU))
  • SMBC Bank International PLC (formerly Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited (SMBCE))
  • Société Générale S.A. (SocGen or Societe Generale)
  • Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited (SMTB)

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

Receiving agencies

Joint Venture/Special Purpose Vehicles

  • GY-DW-UK-IV Limited

Implementing agencies

Private Sector

  • SBM Offshore N.V.

Loan description

In 2022, Bank of China and ICBC participates in USD 1.75 billion syndicated loan for One Guyana FPSO Project, Guyana

Grant element•11.1182%Interest rate (t₀)•5.17621%Interest type•Variable Interest RateMaturity•6 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On July 21, 2022, GY-DW-UK-IV Limited -- a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of SBM Offshore (70% equity stake) and McDermott (30% equity stake) -- signed a $1.75 billion syndicated loan agreement with a group of 15 international lenders for the One Guyana FPSO Project. The members of the loan syndicate included ABN AMRO, Bank of China, Caixa Bank, Citi, Clifford Capital, Credit Agricole, DNB, ICBC, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho, MUFG, SMBC, SMTB, and Societe Generale. The loan carries a 6-year maturity and an interest rate of SOFR plus a 2.2% margin. It will become non-recourse once the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) is completed and the pre-completion guarantee has been released. The proceeds of the loan are to be used by the borrower for the front-end engineering, design, construction, and installation of a new FPSO for ExxonMobil, which is to be based in the Yellowtail development project, off the coast of Guyana. Yellowtail is the fourth development in the Starbroek offshore block, situated around 200km off the coast of Guyana. ExxonMobil operates the block through local affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) alongside its partners: EEPGL – 45%, Hess Guyana Exploration – 30%, and CNOOC Guyana – 25%. SBM will own the FPSO itself for the first 2 years of operation after which operation and ownership will transfer to EEPGL. First oil from Yellowtail is expected in 2025. The vessel was originally expected to be ready for delivery in 2025. Upon completion, it will be capable of producing 250,000 barrels of oil and 450 million cubic feet of gas daily. It will also be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude. The project not only meets SBM Offshore’s own ESG standards, but also went through an extensive ESG due diligence with the banks, shipyard, and client. SBM won the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the FPSO in November 2021. Finalized contracts for the vessel were signed in April 2022 after Yellowtail’s sponsors – led by ExxonMobil – reached a positive final investment decision (FID) for the broader development. Fabrication of topside modules of the FPSO began in October 2022. Then, in March 2023, the vessel successfully entered drydock at the Keppel yard in Singapore.

Staff comments

1. The tenor of the debt matches the vessel’s charter agreement plus 2 years. 2. The exact monetary size of Bank of China's contribution to the loan syndicate is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes equal contributions across the 15 known members of the syndicate ($116,666,666). 3. AidData has estimated that all-in interest rate by adding 2.2% to average SOFR in July 2022 (1.61%).