To Extend US$270mn for Construction of Cogeneration Plant
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) announced on Jan. 19 that it has signed a project financing (PF) agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Bank for a cogeneration plant project.
The bank's CEO Yoon Hee-sung signed an agreement with Riyad Bank president Tareq Al Sadhan at the Fairmont Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to provide financial support for the Jafurah cogeneration plant project in Saudi Arabia, according to Korea Eximbank.
The two institutions signed an agreement on extending a loan of US$270 million and US$165 million, respectively.
The project is designed to supply electricity and steam to Jafurah gas field, which is estimated to contain approximately 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of wet gas resources. The 170-km-long and 100-km-wide field lies southeast of the Ghawar oil field, the world’s biggest conventional onshore oil field, in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.
The Jafurah gas field project entails the development of the 320-million-watt field on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis, at a total value of nearly SAR 2 billion. It is one of the strategic projects that the Saudi Arabian government is promoting to lower its dependence on crude oil. Korean companies such as KEPCO and Doosan Enerbility are also participating in it.
On the same day, Yoon signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi EXIM Bank on discovering clean energy and infrastructure projects overseas and expanding exports of Korean and Saudi companies.