Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, May 9 -- A $1 billion loan offered by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. is designed to secure stable supplies of crude oil to Japan while enabling ADNOC to expand existing fields, develop new ones, and improve production and oil transportation capabilities.
The loan—70% from JBIC and 30% from Japanese commercial banks—is being offered on condition that Abu Dhabi ensures steady exports of its crude oil to Japan.
ADNOC, along with repaying the loan, is expected to sign a long-term deal to export crude oil to Japanese oil companies over a 10-year period.
Four Japanese companies, including Japan Oil Development Co., are currently operating off Abu Dhabi, and the UAE is home to nearly half of the oil fields that Japanese companies are developing independently.
To ensure the security of its oil exports, Abu Dhabi is planning a 360-km pipeline that will bypass the Strait of Hormuz by carrying more than 1 million b/d of crude oil from production areas inside the Persian Gulf to the East coast port of Fujairah.
The UAE accounts for about 25% of Japan's total crude oil imports, about 95% of that coming from Abu Dhabi. The UAE also exports about 90% of its LNG production to Japan, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].