Oman Polypropylene LLC is due to make its first drawdown under its new project finance loan facility at the beginning of August 2004, just four months after the launch of the RFP into the bank market. This is an impressive achievement as the complexity of the financing was not lessened by the relatively small size of the financing, US$240m, due largely to the fact that the transaction was structured along very traditional project finance lines. By Darren Davis, manager of GCC Business Group, Pro

The Arab Gas Pipeline took another major step forward in July when financial close was achieved for the latest 393 km section in Jordan. The Arab Gas Pipeline, an ambitious project to establish a regional gas network, has moved rapidly forward from an outline agreement in 2001 to first gas deliveries in southern Jordan in 2003. The latest section, the Jordan Gas Transmission Pipeline, will supply gas to power and industrial customers in Jordan and bring the pipeline close to the Syria border by

July 20th 2004 was an auspicious date in the development of the Omani power sector for two reasons. First, it marked the signing of the Project Agreements for the Sohar Power and Desalination Project (the project) with a consortium led by Suez-Tractebel. The project marks the latest development in the power sector for the Sultanate of Oman, building on the significant benchmarks of the first development of an IPP in the Middle East (Manah IPP 1994), the introduction of 100% privately owned gener

The Gulf region could be the next big securitisation market. Could be. Two securitisations which recently reached financial close, Abu Dhabi Power Bond and Emaar Properties, show the potential. In addition the backdrop for the development of the market could not be better. But the market still lacks real depth as a capital markets hub and the development of the securitisation market will be tied to attempts to deepened liquidity. Does this matter to project financiers? Yes. By Rod Morrison*. Abu

Islamic project finance is still in its infancy but it has opened up a substantial new line of liquidity for projects. Given it is in its early days, most Islamic deals are part of larger financings and utilise the structuring work on the rest of the deal. The Islamic funders will then match the cost of funds on the other elements of the deal and ensure the Islamic tranche follows Shaira law. A case in point is the current Qatargas 2 LNG deal. The commercial banks were sent the deal first and th

The security situation in the Middle East has progressively deteriorated since the early 1990s. The invasion and occupation of Iraq have fuelled support for Islamic extremists, while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has also provoked anti-Western fervour in the region. In this context, coupled with Middle Eastern countries' various internal problems, it is of little surprise that there is a clear trend towards a growth in terrorist activities in the region. There are clear risks for the future,

Between now and the end of the decade LNG production from West Africa is set to quadruple, from the existing 9mtpy currently onstream via Shell-led Nigeria LNG (NLNG), the sub-Saharan's only project to date, to 39.6mtpy anticipated from a spread of new capacity in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Angola - and these are only the most concrete prospects. Project financiers will definitely play a part in some of this development, but despite the previous NLNG-linked deals for both plant and ships pro