ACCRA, Oct 4 (Reuters) - HSBC and StandardChartered issued a $500 million letter of credit toGhana on Tuesday to guarantee the national oil company'spayments for gas extracted from the offshore Sankofa field.
The companies said in a statement the deal with GhanaNational Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) should provide securityover gas expected to flow in 2018 from the $7.9 billion offshoreoil and gas field being developed by Italy's ENI.
"The facility will guarantee GNPC's payment obligations toenergy companies Vitol and ENI related to the sale of gas to beextracted from the Sankofa field ... and piped onshore for bothpower generation and industrial and domestic consumption," thestatement said.
The World Bank also signed a $500 million deal with GNPClast month in the form of a partial risk guarantee for use ifthe country defaults on payments for Sankofa gas.
ENI holds a 44.4 percent stake in Sankofa, upstream traderVitol holds 35.6 percent while GNPC holds a combinedcarried and participating interest of 20 percent. The World Bankwill loan $200 million to the Sankofa partners.
HSBC France acted as agent on the deal and co-issued $250million with Standard Chartered. The deal's tenor is up to 17years, the statement said. (Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; editing by David Evans)