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Banking Syndicate Loans $1bln for BTC

A 15-member international banking syndicate signed on January 30 over $1 billion in financing for Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, Reuters reported.

The project participants say it was one of the biggest project finance deals in recent years.

BTC’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Townsend told Reuters “this is a landmark deal, one of the biggest private sector financial packages ever done.”

“This means we have completed a total loan package of $2.6 billion and this covers $1 billion of that,” Townsend added.

Of the remaining funds, $1 billion came from loans from consortium members BP, which leads the BTC project, Statoil, Total and ConocoPhillips. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corp provided the rest of the loan.

The final signing ceremony of the deal would take place in Baku on February 3, with representatives of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey expected to initial the documents.

Reuters reports that a 15-member international banking syndicate include Japan’s Mizuho, Societe Generale of France, Dutch ABN Amro, U.S. Citicorp, Banca Intesa, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Indosuez, Dexia, Hypovereinbank, ING, KBC, Natexis Banque Populaire, San Paolo IMI, Germany’s West LB and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Each bank is believed to be lending $68 million, which means a total of $1.02 billion. Townsend declined to disclose loan terms.

The BTC project is met with criticism by the human right and environmental groups claiming that the 1760-km oil pipeline might have a negative impact on the region’s fragile ecology. While the oil company’s see the project as a main source to boost the region’s economic potential.

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