OGR July - August Edition 2020

LNG WORLD NEWS
Templars Provides Innovative Financing Framework
for NLNG’s Train 7 Project
By Jackson Adefemi Olagbaju
Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has
secured $3 billion for the
development of its Train 7
project.
In Oil and Gas Republic’s investigation,
Templars is the legal adviser that
successfully developed the investment
framework for NLNG’s Train 7
expansion project.
According to the company, the $3
billion is a corporate financing from a
group of 31 lenders, building investor’s
confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas
industry. The investment will also be
supported by substantial cash flows
from NLNG’s existing Six Train LNG
plant.
Templars disclosed that the $3 billion is
a record-breaking investment strategy
for being the first time ever that a multisourced
corporate finance lending
would be utilised to fund an LNG
project anywhere in the world.
Templars Managing Partner Oghogho
Akpata commented: “We are pleased to
have played a role in creating this firstof-its-kind
financing technique, which
happens to be the largest financing on
the continent so far in 2020. It
continues a trend of Templars advising
on a majority of the largest and most
complex infrastructure projects in the
Nigerian market, be it in the area of gas,
pipelines, power, roads, ports, telecom
infrastructure or petrochemicals.”
Speaking further, Partner and Finance
Practice Group Head, Chike Obianwu added
that; “Quite apart from its size and the
uniqueness of the hybrid corporate finance
technique being used on a deal of this
nature, this was a standout deal for a
number of other reasons…. And it is quite
remarkable that the parties were able to pull
this off in the middle of the COVID-19
pandemic and a particularly trying period for
the Nigerian economy…. It has been a
pleasure to have contributed to the success
of the transaction and we wish NLNG all the
best with the development of the project.”
The lenders include three export credit
agencies, Export-Import Bank of Korea
( K E X I M ) , K o r e a T r a d e I n s u r a n c e
Corporation (K-SURE) and Servizi
Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (SACE);
two regional development finance
institutions: African Export-Import Bank
and Africa Finance Corporation; 16
international commercial banks under an
international commercial facility tranche;
and 10 Nigerian commercial banks, under a
Nigerian commercial facility tranche.
The Templars team on the transaction was
led by Chike Obianwu and Finance partner
Zelda Akindele with support from Oghogho
Akpata, Senior Associate Modupe Dabiri
and Associates Benita Ogbodo, Ebuka
Ogbodo and Bernard Ehigiamusor.
Compliance law partner Emmanuel
Gbahabo advised on environmental law and
compliance issues; Senior Associate Sesan
S u l a i m a n a n d A s s o c i a t e P r o m i s e
Madubuobu advised on tax issues; whilst
Disputes partners Godwin Omoaka, S.A.N.
and Igonikon Adekunle together with Senior
Associates Victor Igwe and Stanley Nweke-
Eze provided support on complex
enforcement-related issues.
A large team of lawyers from the London,
Milan and Seoul offices of White & Case led
by the London-based partners, Jason Kerr,
David Baker and Richard Hill acted as
international counsel to the lenders.
The project is scheduled for commissioning
in 2025 and will include a new liquefaction
unit, an 84,200m3 storage tank, a 36,000m3
condensate tank and three gas turbine
generators. It is expected to increase
NLNG’s production capacity from 22 to 30
million tonnes per annum, thereby placing
the company among the top five producers
and exporters of LNG in the world.
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OIL AND GAS REPUBLIC I SPECIAL EDITION