SCF concludes new project financing for two LNG carriers

Joint venture companies belonging to  Sovcomflot  (SCF Group), NYK Line and Samudera, have signed a new USD 155 million non-recourse credit facility, for up to eight years, with two leading international banks: MUFG Bank and Development Bank of Japan Inc.

The facility will be used towards refinancing two LNG carriers servicing the Tangguh LNG plant,  Tangguh Towuti  and her sister ship  Tangguh Batur, which are jointly owned and operated by SCF Group, NYK Line and Samudera.

The Tangguh LNG plant in Indonesia, involved with the production and shipping of LNG, is managed by the Tangguh Production Sharing Contractors (TPSC), an international consortium. It is operated by BP and began LNG exports in 2009. The designated annual output of extracted gas is 7.6 million tonnes, which is exported to China, the Republic of Korea and the USA, as well as being used domestically.

Nikolay Kolesnikov, Executive Vice-President & CFO of  Sovcomflot, said: &ldquo We are delighted to have concluded this new long-term financing agreement for our joint venture companies with NYK Line and Samudera. We are also pleased to welcome establishing relations with new international financial institutions. SCF Group continues to demonstrate uninterrupted access to finance amid market cyclicality, which allows us to maintain a smooth debt repayment profile and a robust long-term liquidity position, fully in line with our budgetary targets.&rdquo

PAO Sovcomflot  (SCF Group)  is one of the world' s leading energy shipping companies, specialising in the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied gas, as well as the servicing of offshore oil and gas production. As of 16 November 2020, the Group&rsquo s fleet comprises 146 vessels with a total deadweight of over 12.6 million tonnes, including vessels owned through joint ventures. More than 80 vessels have an ice class.

SCF is involved in servicing large oil and gas projects in Russia and around the world: Sakhalin-1 Sakhalin-2 Varandey Prirazlomnoye Novy Port Yamal LNG, and Tangguh (Indonesia). The Group is headquartered in St. Petersburg, with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, London, Limassol, and Dubai.