Recently a $500 million letter of credit to Ghana has been issued by Standard Chartered and HSBC in order to confirm payments for natural resources extracted from the Sankofa gas field, part of the Offshore Cape Three Shore complex.
The companies said in a statement that the deal with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) should provide security over gas expected to flow in 2018 from the $7.9 billion offshore oil and gas field being developed by Italy’s ENI.
“The facility will guarantee GNPC’s payment obligations to energy companies Vitol and ENI related to the sale of gas to be extracted from the Sankofa field … and piped onshore for both power generation and industrial and domestic consumption,” the statement said.
The World Bank also signed a $500 million deal with GNPC last month in the form of a partial risk guarantee for use if the country defaults on payments for Sankofa gas.
ENI holds a 44.% stake in Sankofa, upstream trader Vitol holds 35.% while GNPC holds a combined carried and participating interest of 20 percent. The World Bank will loan $200 million to the Sankofa partners.
HSBC France acted as agent on the deal and co-issued $250 million with Standard Chartered. The deal’s tenor is up to 17 years, the statement said.
