Norton Rose Fulbright advises on $1bn project financing for Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan

Global legal practice Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a consortium of international financial institutions in relation to a $1 billion project financing for the second stage of the of the Shah Deniz gas development project in Azerbaijan. The consortium includes Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB). The borrower is Lukoil Overseas Shah Deniz Ltd..

Bank of China Limited, London Branch, ING Bank N.V., Société Générale and Unicredit Bank Austria AG are also participating under the ADB and EBRD B Loan structures.

The second stage of the Shah Deniz project, which is in the Caspian Sea, 70 km south-east of Baku, is one of the largest gas developments in the world and will add a further 16 billion cubic meters per year (bcma) of gas production to the approximately 9 bcma produced by the first stage of the project.

Charles Whitney, partner, Norton Rose Fulbright comments:

“We are proud to have advised the lenders on another landmark financing in the Caspian oil and gas sector. Amid the challenging oil and gas sector at the moment, Lukoil and ADB, BSTDB and EBRD deserve huge credit for pulling together a robust and bankable structure. This financing represents an important step towards realisation of the project and delivery of gas supplies to Europe.”

The cross border Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by Charles Whitney and included: senior associate Emma Walshe and associates Ben Sealy and Nao Yoshida in London; and partner Nick Dingemans and senior associate William Stroll in Singapore. Partners Alexander Tsakoev in Moscow and Wouter Hertzberger in Amsterdam also supported the team.

For further information please contact:

Meeta Vadher, PR Manager
Tel: +44 (0)20 7444 3097; Mob: +44 (0)7595 886 276
meeta.vadher@nortonrosefulbright.com

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