Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and ICBC contribute to $1.65 billion syndicated term loan to SASOL to refinance the Lake Charles Chemical Project (Linked to Project ID#86971)

On June 7, 2019, eleven banks including Bank of China (BoC), China Construction Bank (CCB), and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) signed a $1.8 billion credit facility agreement with SASOL — a South African chemical and energy company — for the Lake Charles Chemical Project. The $1.8 billion credit facility consists of a $1.65 billion syndicated term loan (captured via Project ID#86969) and a $150 million revolving credit facility (captured via Project ID#86971). Both facilities have a tenor of five years. The interest rates that apply these facilities are unknown. The $1.65 billion loan syndicate is composed of Bank of America, Mizuho Bank and SMBC (global coordinators, bookrunners, and mandated lead arrangers), BNP Paribas and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (mandated lead arrangers), and Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Citibank, Intesa Sanpaolo, and JP Morgan (lead arrangers). The purpose of the loan facility is to refinance in full the outstanding Lake Charles Chemical Project asset finance loan. The Lake Charles Project is located in Louisiana, USA, and is an undertaking by Sasol Financing that recently grew in cost. As of 2019, the project has an estimated capital cost of $11.6 to $11.8 billion. Upon completion, it will be an integrated ethane cracker and downstream derivatives complex. The project has been fully commissioned and has started up. As of the end of December 2018, engineering and procurement activities were substantially complete, and construction progress was at 84%. In November 2020, the Lake Charles Chemical Complex is completed, and the final cost of the whole project was $12.9 billion. It can produce up to 420,000 tons of polyethylene each year using technology developed by Exxon Mobil. The Lake Charles Chemical Complex is composed of two operating entities: Sasol’s Lake Charles East Plant and Sasol’s Lake Charles West Plant. In October 2021, SASOL announced that it has begun an ethylene and steam turnaround at the Lake Charles Chemical Complex East Plant.

Additional details

1. For the time being, AidData has estimated the contribution of the Chinese state-owned banks by assuming that the eleven lenders contributed equal amounts (USD 150 million) to the loan syndicate ($150 million x 3 Chinese banks = $450 million).

Number of official sources

3

Number of total sources

8