Qatar projects win Ex-Im Bank support

The U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved $526 million in project financing to support U.S. exports for gas field development supporting Qatar's Ras Laffan and Qatargas liquefied natural gas projects. The development projects involve supergiant North gas field off Qatar and will entail exports from a number of U.S. firms, including primary contractors M.W. Kellogg and McDermott Engineering.

Jan. 27, 1997

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The U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved $526 million in project financing to support U.S. exports for gas field development supporting Qatar's Ras Laffan and Qatargas liquefied natural gas projects.

The development projects involve supergiant North gas field off Qatar and will entail exports from a number of U.S. firms, including primary contractors M.W. Kellogg and McDermott Engineering.

The bank approved $464 million in financing supporting U.S. exports to Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co. Ltd. to build, own, and operate offshore and onshore facilities in North field. Ras Laffan will process North gas for its LNG export project.

Ras Laffan interest owners are state-owned Qatar General Petroleum Corp. (QGPC) and Mobil Corp. unit Mobil QM Gas Inc. Kellogg is a primary contractor for the onshore portion of the project and McDermott for offshore facilities.

The bank also approved as much as $62 million in financing in support of the sale of U.S. equipment and services for the upstream part of the Qatargas Liquefied Natural Gas project.

It will develop a gas and condensate concession in North field, build a pipeline to move the wet gas, extract and sell condensate, and deliver dry gas to an LNG plant. The Qatargas project is a joint venture of units of Mobil, QGPC, Total, Marubeni Corp., and Mitsui & Co.

Ex-Im Bank said financiers of the two projects will be repaid from project revenues rather than relying on a guarantee of the debt by the host country government.