Origin gas export joint venture secures $US8.5 billion financing

ORIGIN Energy and its Gladstone gas export partners have secured $US8.5 billion ($8.75 billion) of loans from the US, China and commercial banks in a bigger-than-expected borrowing that may remove the need for an Origin capital raising to fund an expansion of the Australia Pacific LNG project.

Origin and its partners, ConocoPhillips and China’s Sinopec, are targeting mid-year approval of a second production train with an expected cost of $US6 billion at the APLNG project at Curtis Island off Gladstone.

Origin chief Grant King said the loans, which comprise one of the nation’s biggest project-finances, paved the way “for development of one of Australia’s largest LNG export projects".

He said the second train was on track for mid-year approval.

He also said APLNG’s development cost estimate of $US14 billion for the first train, which is designed to start exporting in 2015, was still in place and that he was confident the targets would be reached.

As reported in The Australian earlier this month, the Export-Import Bank of the United States will provide $US2.87 billion of funding. Export-Import Bank of China will also provide $US2.76 billion and 15 commercial banks, including Australia's big four lenders and offshore banks including HSBC and Mizuho, will stump up $US2.76 billion.

Origin shares were trading 20c firmer at $13.02 this morning on  the Australian Stock Exchange.

Source:-theaustralian.com.au