Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On April 12, 2018, IDB Invest (the private sector institution of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, formerly Inter-American Investment Corporation, or IIC), signed a loan package with Centrais Elétricas de Sergipe SA (CELSE) — a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of Eletricidade do Brasil (EBRASIL) and Golar Power, which is itself a joint venture of Golar LNG and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners — for the 1.5GW Porto de Sergipe I Combined-Cycle Gas-Fired Power Plant Construction Project. Through this loan package, the People's Bank of China would provide $50 million via the China Co-Financing Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean (CHC) and IDB Invest agreed to provide up to 664 million Brazilian reais and $38 million. The China Co-Financing Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean loan has a 14-year interest and a floating (LIBOR-based) interest rate. It is secured by (i.e. collateralized against) a first-priority lien in all ‘Project Collateral’. The loan agreement's definition of ‘Project Collateral’ can be found in the collateral section of the loan details. The IDB approval date for this loan financing was December 12, 2017, and it refers to this project as "Porto de Sergipe LNG-to-Power Project," project code 12048-01. The project was additionally co-financed by a $200 million loan from the International Finance Corporation, as well as a bond issue for approximately $1 billion in reais at a fixed, long-term rate in international markets, 95% guaranteed by SERV, the Swiss export and import credit agency. The bond issue was coordinated by Goldman Sachs and settled through Swiss Insured Brazil Power Finance, a Luxembourg-based special purpose vehicle. General Electric provided separate financing as well The purpose of the project is to construct a 1.5GW (1,551 MW) combined-cycle gas-fired power plant in Barra dos Coqueiros, Brazil. The project also involves the construction of a 33km-long, 500kV transmission line (connecting the high-voltage Jardin substation located in Nossa Senhora do Socorro). Lastly, the project involves the construction of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and associated facilities (a submarine pipeline and water intake and sewage pipes). Upon completion, the power plant is expected be the biggest thermal power plant in Brazil by capacity. Centrais Eletricas de Sergipe (CELSE) is the owner and developer of the power plant. The Porto de Sergipe LNG-based power plant is being developed on a 511,622m² (51.16ha) site located approximately 10km away from Aracaju. The combined-cycle power plant will be equipped with three GE 7HA gas turbines, a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), and a steam turbine also from GE. Other infrastructure that will be part of the plant includes a cooling tower, a water treatment plant, and an onsite substation. The plant is expected to operate with an efficiency of more than 62%. Natural gas will be delivered to the plant through a pipeline from a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to be stationed 6.5km away from the coastline. The FSRU will have 170,000m³ of LNG storage capacity and 21 million cubic meters a day (Mcmd) of regasification capacity. It will receive LNG by tankers and LNG carriers. CELSE signed an agreement with Golar Power to charter the Golar Nanook FSRU for 25 years for the power plant in October 2016. The electricity generated by the Porto de Sergipe power plant will be sent to the National Interconnect System (SIN) through the 33km-long, 500kV transmission line connecting the high-voltage Jardin substation located in Nossa Senhora do Socorro. The electricity generated by the plant will be sold to 26 different customers under multiple long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) executed through an auction by the Brazilian government in April 2015. Further, it operates as a backup base load power plant and is expected to dispatch to the national grid between 30‐50% of the time, as required by the Electric System National Operator (ONS). General Electric was awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the Porto de Sergipe power plant in October 2016. The scope of the contract includes supply and installation of three 7HA gas turbines, a steam turbine, a HRSG, as well as the 33km transmission line and the substation. GE also entered a contractual service agreement (CSA) and a long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement for the majority of the project in October 2016. Sapura Energy was awarded the EPC contract for the gas pipeline portion of the Porto de Sergipe power project in November 2017. It is also responsible for the transportation and installation of the FSRU mooring system as well as for the FSRU hook-up. Golar LNG was contracted as the O&M operator for the FRSU. Black & Veatch was appointed as the owner’s engineer for the Porto de Sergipe power plant in November 2016. Construction started following the final investment decision (FID) in October 2016. The power plant was originally scheduled to come online in January 2020. The project ultimately reached its commercial operations date (COD) in March 2020.
Staff comments
1. The loan agreement can be accessed in its entirety via and debenture deed can be accessed in their entirety via https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1806220/000114036120019395/nt10010929x7_ex10-17.htm and https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/cd9hpoehqn279bdv31ssy/sec.gov_Archives_edgar_data_1806220_000114036120019395_nt10010929x7_ex10-17.htm.pdf?rlkey=rnxtjj5kedqfjlqgijj47bm08&st=5dmwa6tu&dl=0 2. The debenture deed can be accessed in its entirety via https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1806220/000114036120019395/nt10010929x7_ex4-1.htm. and https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/59cb2xxoiteoosjoaf8r1/debenture_agreement.pdf?rlkey=yh7sdmhrpguy244da6m1iiuce&st=4nnl0j94&dl=0 2. The China Co-Financing Fund was established on January 14, 2013 with a contribution of $2 billion by the People's Bank of China, and it is administered by the IDB. For more information, see umbrella Record ID#86526. 3. This project is also known as the Porto de Sergipe I LNG-to-Power Project. The Portuguese project title is Usina Termelétrica Porto de Sergipe I 4. Some technical specifications about the project (ex., the MW capacity, length of transmission line) are not precisely the same between the Environmental and Social Review Summary and the CELSE website, though are approximately equivalent. When in disagreement, the numbers from the CELSE website are used, insofar as the webpage was updated following the completion of construction, and the ESRS prior to. 5. CELSE is 50% owned by EBRASIL (Eletricidade do Brasil), a Brazilian company. The other 50% is owned by Golar Power – a joint venture between the Norwegian Golar LNG and the American investment fund Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, according to IDB Invest. Golar LNG is a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy, which is listed as the other stakeholder on the CELSE website. CELSE was created in 2015.