FYI17 May 2018 18:14
May 15 (PFI) - The government of Equatorial Guinea could scrap the US$2bn Fortuna floating LNG project if project sponsor Ophir Energy is unable to finalise debt for the project, now delayed for more than a year.
UK-listed Ophir, which is developing the project with Golar LNG and oil services firm Schlumberger, faces a licence expiry in December this year.
Gabriel Obiang Lima, the country's minister of mines and hydrocarbons, told Reuters this week: “We have a clear idea of who we would give the license to but at this stage we are not prepared to comment.”
Lima said another option is to scrap Fortuna and instead pipe gas from Block R into an existing land-based LNG project on Bioko Island, 150km south-west.
About US$1.2bn in debt is required by Ophir, which is being advised by Societe Generale. It has held discussions with potential lenders including ICBC, China State Shipbuilding Corp and, more recently, a Singapore-based group led by Temasek. Three Chinese lenders abandoned the financing in May 2016 after signing term sheets.
The offtake arrangement for the LNG is also in flux, according to Reuters. Despite an agreement to sell most of the LNG to Gunvor, rival traders Shell, Vitol and Trafigura are now said to be in talks for a new arrangement.
“The problem is Ophir ... Ophir needs to make up its mind, decide which financing it wants and execute it,” Lima said.