ICBC participates in $237.5 million syndicated loan to expand Cerro Dragon block in San Jorge Gulf Basin (linked to Project ID#54685)

On January 24, 2014, the Argentine branch of Pan American Energy (PAE) secured a $237.5 million syndicated loan (including ICBC debt) to finance part of the company’s investment program in exploration and production of oil and gas in Argentina. The loan has two tranches. Tranche A is $50 million from the Development Bank of Latin America (Corporacion Andina de Fomento, CAF) with a 6 year maturity. Tranche B is $187.5 million with a 4 year maturity. ICBC contributed an estimated $46,875,000 to Tranche B. Other contributors to Tranche B included Banco Itaú, Natixis, and Crédit Agricole. The purpose of the loan is to contribute to PAE's July 2013 - June 2014 investment plan. More specifically, its purpose is to contribute to PAE's investment in the the Dragon Hill (Cerro Dragón) area of the San Jorge Gulf Basin (Cuenca Golfo San Jorge), which is located in the provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz. ICBC contributed to an another syndicated loan that, in part, also funded the Cerro Dragon project, captured via project ID#54685.

Additional details

1. The size of ICBC’s contribution to the $187.5 million syndicated loan tranche is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes equal contributions ($46,875,000) across the 4 known members of the loan syndicate. 2. Linklaters and Pérez Alati, Grondona, Benites, Arntsen & Martínez de Hoz advised CAF in the loan transaction. 3. The Cerro Dragón area is also referred to as the Cerro Dragon Block 4. Pan American Energy is a leading global multi-source energy company. In 2017, the company’s shareholders —Bridas Corp. and BP— consolidated their interests in Pan American Energy and AXION Energy to form a single company called Pan American Energy Group. Bridas Corp. is now known as BC Energy Investment Corp., and is 50% held by Bridas Energy Holdings Ltd. and 50% held by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). Today, Pan American Energy (PAE) has positioned itself as Argentina’s largest private producer, employer and investor in the energy industry and conducts operations in Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia and Uruguay. PAE’s operations span the upstream, midstream and downstream operations and thermal and renewable electric power sectors of the energy business. In the downstream business, PAE operates the Campana Argentina refinery. As for its retail operations, the company sells fuels through the brand AXION Energy and lubricants through the brand Castrol, in its 740 gas stations in Argentina and Uruguay. Axion presently has a 15% share of the Argentine fuels market. The company currently explores and produces oil and gas in Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico in conventional and unconventional reservoirs, both onshore and offshore.

Number of official sources

2

Number of total sources

6