Lukoil has agreed a $1 billion dollar loan agreement with a consortium of banks to ensure the company’s participation in the next stage of giant Shah Deniz gas field development in Azerbaijan.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed a 12-year credit-facility agreement with Lukoil in Baku to provide around $560million along with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB).
The remaining $440million, will be provided for 10 years by a commercial syndicate comprising ING, the Bank of China, UniCredit and Societe Generale.
The annual production from the offshore Shah Deniz Stage 1 and Stage 2 will peak at 25billion cubic meters of natural gas. It will provide gas to the EU from the Caspian Sea for the first time.
Stage 2 of Shah Deniz started in December 2013. The total amount of investments provided by the operating consortium, which includes BP and Petronas, will be $28billion, excluding the construction of the export pipeline systems.