Nakilat Closes Initial Round Of us$4.3 Billion Financing
Qatar, December 20, 2006
Nakilat announced on 19/12/2006 the closing for the initial round of US$4.3
billion 
financing by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nakilat Inc. The US$4.3 billion will
be used primarily to fund the building of Nakilat’s 16 state-of-the-art LNG
vessels to transport Qatari LNG to various markets around the world and is
believed to be the largest ever single round of LNG vessel financing. The 16
LNG vessels are expected to advance the State of Qatar’s ambitious program to
commercialize the world’s largest non-associated gas field, the approximately
900 tcf North Field, by linking the upstream and downstream components of the
Qatari LNG value chain.
The closing of the initial financing represents the completion of another step
in QGTC’s plan to become the world’s largest transporter of LNG. The financing
builds on Nakilat’s past successes which included entering into shipbuilding
contacts with three prominent Korean shipyards (affiliates of Samsung, Hyundai
and Daewoo) and into long-term charter contracts with Qatargas II and Qatargas
3 for the 16 LNG vessels. Additionally, Nakilat recently entered into
management contracts for the LNG vessels with STASCO, a subsidiary of Royal
Dutch Shell. Nakilat anticipates that its future steps will include plans to
build up to an additional 11 LNG vessels for charter to RasGas 3 and Qatargas 4
and the related second round of financing for an additional US$3.3 billion.
The unprecedented initial financing raised funds from a variety of sources,
including a syndicate of 24 commercial banks, the private capital markets and
two Korean export credit agencies. The financing allocations were as follows:
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Senior secured debt facilities with commercial banks for up to
US$2.2 billion
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Subordinated secured debt facilities with commercial banks for up
to US$175 million
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Senior secured bonds due 2033 for US$850 million (rated Aa3 by
Moody’s, A+ by S&P, and A+ by Fitch)
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Subordinated secured bonds due 2033 for US$300 million (rated A1 by
Moody’s, A- by S&P, and A- by Fitch)
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Senior secured debt facility with the Export-Import Bank of Korea
(KEXIM) for up to US$500 million
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Senior secured debt facility with a syndicate of commercial banks
insured under a Korea Export Insurance Corporation (KEIC) insurance guarantee
for up to US$225 million.
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