News: FAR UPDATE 1-Australia's FAR takes final investment decision for Senegal oil project

(Adds background on the project)

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Australian oil minnow FAR Ltd (FAR) said on Monday it has lined up loan funding for its share of the $4.2 billion Sangomar project, Senegal's first oil development block, and made a final decision to proceed.

FAR, a minority partner in the project, said it received credit approvals for an underwritten A$300 million ($206 million) senior secured reserve-based lending facility by Macquarie Bank, BNP Paribas and Glencore.

The Senegal government recently gave the greenlight for the project, which is expected to produce 231 million barrels (MMbbl) of oil resources in its initial phase of development and strike first oil in the next three years.

The project is a joint venture (JV) between Woodside Petroleum (WPL) , Cairn Energy Plc CNE.L , FAR and Senegal's state-owned Petrosen.

Woodside, as project operator, has issued a notice to proceed for the drilling and subsea construction and installation contracts, FAR said.

The partners in the project are eager to push ahead even as they await the outcome of an arbitration over a dispute.

FAR contends it was denied its right to pre-empt the sale of a 35% stake in the Sangomar field by ConocoPhillips COP.N to Woodside in 2016. The dispute is expected to be resolved early this year.

($1 = 1.4545 Australian dollars)