Pool of Arctic LNG 2 creditors established, loans to be signed by end of year

MURMANSK. Oct 18 (Interfax) – A pool of creditors for the Arctic LNG 2 project has now been established, Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson told reporters.

“It has been established. “[It remains] to sign on the dotted line,” Mikhelson said. “We’ll arrange all necessary project financing this year,” he said.

Mikhelson also said documents on the possibility of Russian banks increasing financing had been signed.

Mikhelson said on September 3 that he was not seeing help from governments of European states whose companies are participating in the Arctic LNG 2 project so he had arranged with Russian banks to double their contribution to 60% from 30%. He said the decisions by European countries were related to politics.

He said French export-import agency BPI France, as well as Germany’s Hermes had not put financing for Arctic LNG on their agendas in the summer, although both French and German equipment suppliers were involved in the project, and that the company had received no further questions. “I think we won’t be expecting anybody else, they won’t be involved,” Mikhelson said, adding that in his view this had nothing to do with the green agenda prevailing in Europe at present.

“On the whole I think that this is connected not with the green agenda, but with the political agenda. And with the political agenda not of a state, but of the specific leaders of these states,” he said.

External financing for the $21.3 billion Arctic LNG 2 project should come to 9.2 billion euros. The plan was to secure 30% of that from each of China, Japan/Europe and Russia.

This article was originally posted on the website of Interfax.