qgc takeover, page-51

What credit rating does BG/QGC have?

Apart from a potentially large resource (as per announcements so far), our new farm in/JV partner will certainly help CTP in this market. And with another farm in partner or QGC increasing it's farm in percentage, thought that this article was relevant.

PNG LNG project not immune from credit crisis, Exxonmobil

Elisabeth Behrmann | December 01, 2008

Article from: Dow Jones Newswires
EXXONMOBIL, operator of the $US11 billion PNG LNG joint venture in Papua New Guinea, said it would be "foolish" to suggest the project was immune from the credit crunch but that Exxon's long-standing AAA credit rating provided "weather proofing" in the current conditions.

“We seek to borrow $US10 billion, and it would be foolish to say the project was immune from current market conditions but we have significant weather proofing (through Exxon's AAA rating) as well as one of the most credible LNG projects in the region,” Peter Graham, venture manager of ExxonMobil Development Company, said.

Speaking at the Papua New Guinea Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference, Mr Graham said financial close for the project - the biggest ever developed in the country - was still planned for the fourth quarter of next year.

“The project is progressing well and on schedule,” Mr Graham said.

Exxon, which is coordinating financing for the project, will have access to long-term financing by way of its AAA rating that the company has maintained for over 100 years, Mr Graham said.

“In late January we are planning to conduct a visit with 70 representatives from credit agencies and banks,” he said.

French investment bank Societe Generale is acting as advisor.

Other major joint venture partners include Australia’s Oil Search, Santos, Japan's Nippon Oil Corp, and MRDC, a PNG company representing landowner interests as well as the government.

PNG LNG going ahead would represent a major milestone for the viability of other large-scale gas projects in the country, with the Exxon-led operation potentially acting as a blueprint to navigate government and traditional landowner negotiations.

Last week Oil Search confirmed that the PNG government had agreed to use its stake in the oil and gas producer to raise $1.68 billion from International Petroleum Investment Co, an Abu Dhabi government investment firm.

Exxon plans to appoint engineering contractors in the second half of next year, put out shipping tenders by the first quarter of 2009, with first cargoes of liquefied natural gas scheduled to leave PNG in 2013-14.

Dow Jones Newswires