Attarat Power Company closes $2.1 billion oil shale project in Jordan
Staff Writer |
Attarat Power Company (APCO) announced that it has reached financial close for the project to construct the first oil shale fired power station and open cast mine in Jordan.
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It will be located at the Attarat um Ghudran oil shale deposit approximately 100km south east of Amman.
The construction of the 554MW gross/470MW net oil shale fired mine mouth power station will commence shortly and the power station is scheduled to start operation in mid-2020.
This project is the first to commercially utilise Jordan’s abundant oil shale reserves, and will significantly reduce Jordan’s reliance on imported oil and gas. With an investment value of $2.1 billion, the project is the largest private sector project in Jordan to date.
The two unit power station will be the first oil shale fired power station and mine project in the world funded by limited recourse project financing. It is expected to meet 10-15% of Jordan´s annual power demand.
In addition to confirmation that the debt facilities are now available for drawdown, financial close has entailed the completion of the transfer of 15% of the equity to YTL Power International of Malaysia and 45% to Guangdong Yudean Group of China, from Eesti Energia) of Estonia and Near East Investment of Jordan.
APCO is now owned 45% by each of YTL and Yudean and 10% by Enefit. The shareholders have committed to provide base shareholder funding of up to $528 million.
The $1,582 million 15 year debt financing will be provided on the basis of export credit insurance provided by China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation. The debt facility has been lead arranged by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Bank of China.
Standard Chartered Bank is acting as Onshore Security Agent, and has also provided a $33m bank guarantee to support the obligation to construct the power station in favour of the National Electric Power Corporation (“NEPCO”) of Jordan, the single buyer of power. This is the largest private project financing supported by Sinosure to date.
APCO has entered into a fixed cost fixed term engineering, procurement and construction contract with Guangdong Power Engineering Corporation, a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Group Co Ltd. Commercial operations of the two units are scheduled for 38 and 42 months from financial close.
APCO has entered into a 30-year agreement with NEPCO for the sale of the entire electrical capacity and net electrical output following construction of the power station.
Affiliates of the shareholders will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the power station as well as the fuel supply.
The power station and oil shale mine are expected to employ approximately 5,500 people during construction and 1,000 during operations. ■
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