Bank of China provides $500 million loan to CNPC-AktobeMunaiGaz for working capital purposes (Linked to Project ID#96017)

In June 2011, Bank of China and CNPC-AktobeMunaiGaz JSC (CNPC AMG) — a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of CNPC and AktobeMunaiGaz (a Kazakh state-owned oil company) that develops hydrocarbon deposits in the Aktobe region of western Kazakhstan — signed a $500 million loan agreement for working capital purposes. The loan carried an interest rate of 3-month LIBOR plus a 3% margin and 5-year maturity (final maturity date: June 2016). However, the loan was eventually rescheduled and its final maturity date was extended to 2021. The loan rescheduling is captured via Project ID#96017. The borrower was responsible for making interest payments every 3 months. As of December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, the loan’s (principal) outstanding amount was $420,000,000. By December 31, 2021, the loan had been repaid in full.

Additional details

1. CNPC-AktobeMunaiGaz JSC (CNPC AMG) is a Kazakh-Chinese joint venture that owns the Zhanazhol, Kenkiyak (pre-salt) and Kenkiyak (post-salt) oil fields in Kazakhstan. It is one of the five largest oil companies in Kazakhstan. In 1997, it was 60.3% owned by CNPC and 39.7% owned by AktobeMunaiGaz (a Kazakh state-owned oil company). CNPC gained its 60.3% ownership stake in CNPC AMG after winning a tender on the privatization of AktobeMunaiGaz in 1997. Then, In 2003, CNPC paid over $150 million to increase its ownership stake in the joint venture to 85.42%. 2. AidData has estimated the all-in interest rate that applies to the loan by adding 3% to average 3-month LIBOR in June 2011 (0.248%). 3. The 2020 annual report (http://cpf.cnpc.com.cn/cpf/gsnbxx/202105/df43f42362d94811a59a637b2297083c/files/4c05881d6c91435b818f2ce5a8062035.pdf) of CNPC Finance (HK) Limited — the lending arm of CNPC — suggests that it may have issued a loan to CNPC-AktobeMunaiGaz JSC in 2020. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

6

Number of total sources

9