{"id":77992,"date":"2017-01-16T10:48:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T10:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=460ade1060fd465508ec4f5ba3ebb9bf"},"modified":"2017-01-16T10:48:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-16T10:48:00","slug":"press-release-ukef-supports-ge-oil-gas-contract-with-major-energy-project-in-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=77992","title":{"rendered":"Press release: UKEF supports GE Oil &amp; Gas contract with major energy project in Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<ul>\n<li>\n<abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> is supporting a GE Oil &amp; Gas contract worth US$850 million<\/li>\n<li>the contract will support jobs in the Aberdeen and Bristol areas<\/li>\n<li>it is the first time a European export credit agency has supported a financing structure of this kind, and is <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr>\u2019s first direct loan for a project in Africa<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>GE Oil &amp; Gas, which is headquartered in the UK, is providing subsea production systems to the project, which will develop oil and gas fields approximately 60km offshore from the western side of Ghana\u2019s coast. Following first gas production in 2018, the new fields are expected to continuously feed Ghana\u2019s thermal power plants for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>Rt Hon. Greg Hands MP, Minister for Trade and Investment, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">The Offshore Cape Three Points Project will greatly improve Ghana\u2019s energy security. Thanks to the UK Government\u2019s support, via UK Export Finance, and our global leadership in oil and gas, UK companies are ideally placed to support Ghana\u2019s future development and seize the huge export potential that brings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of GE Oil &amp; Gas, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">This contract represents GE\u2019s ability to invest to build local partnership, resource and infrastructure capabilities, and will utilise engineering and manufacturing expertise from the UK, across the supply chain. Export credit agency financing is an important source of support for our customers, and the MoU signed with <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> in 2015 has helped to support this success.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Offshore Cape Three Points (<abbr title=\"Offshore Cape Three Points\">OCTP<\/abbr>) project will develop gas reserves expected to generate an additional 1,100MW of power for Ghana, which will alleviate the country\u2019s reliance on energy imports, providing long-term energy security and supporting Ghanaian industrial development. This transformational natural gas project will help the country achieve its COP21 commitments for climate mitigation by displacing heavy fuel oil use with gas \u2013 equivalent to taking 1.2 million cars off Ghana\u2019s roads each year or planting 152 million trees.<\/p>\n<p>Support for the contract is a result of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between GE and <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> in 2015, affirming <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr>\u2019s support for GE and GE\u2019s commitment to continued investment in its UK operations.<\/p>\n<p><abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> will provide US$400 million of support to the <abbr title=\"Offshore Cape Three Points\">OCTP<\/abbr> project, including a loan under its Direct Lending Facility. This will be <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr>\u2019s first direct loan for a project in Africa. <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> support will finance the specialised systems and equipment, a significant proportion of which has been sourced from the UK.<\/p>\n<p><abbr title=\"Offshore Cape Three Points\">OCTP<\/abbr> is understood to be the world\u2019s first upstream oil and gas development transaction where a European export credit agency (<abbr title=\"export credit agency\">ECA<\/abbr>) has supported a major hybrid finance structure comprising both project finance and reserve-based lending. As the sole <abbr title=\"export credit agency\">ECA<\/abbr>, <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> played a pioneering role in establishing this precedent, reinforcing its growing reputation as one of the world\u2019s most innovative and flexible ECAs. The transaction has been named Project Finance International\u2019s African Oil &amp; Gas Deal of the Year for 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Total investment in the development of the <abbr title=\"Offshore Cape Three Points\">OCTP<\/abbr> are estimated to be US$7.9 billion over the life of the project, represents the largest foreign direct investment in Ghana\u2019s history. <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr>\u2019s support is provided as part of a larger US$1.35 billion financing package alongside that of the International Finance Corporation and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank Group, as well as commercial banks HSBC Bank plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 G\u00e9n\u00e9rale (London Branch), ING Belgium SA\/NV, Natixis, Bank of China, Singapore Branch, Mizuho Bank Ltd and MUFG (Europe) N.V.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"notes-for-editors\">Notes for editors<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/uk-export-finance\">UK Export Finance<\/a> is the UK\u2019s export credit agency and a government department, working alongside the Department for International Trade as an integral part of its strategy and operations.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/understanding-ukefs-autumn-statement-2016-measures\">Autumn Statement 2016<\/a> doubled <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr>\u2019s capacity to support exports to \u00a35 billion and increased its capacity for support in individual markets by up to 100%.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> exists to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for want of finance or insurance from the private market. It provides finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and ensure they get paid for export contracts.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Sectors in which <abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> has supported exports include: aerospace, construction, oil and gas, mining and metals, petrochemicals, telecommunications, and transport.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> has a regional network of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/find-an-export-finance-manager\">24 export finance managers<\/a> supporting export businesses.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr> supports exporters with a range of products that include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bond insurance policy<\/li>\n<li>Bond support scheme<\/li>\n<li>Buyer &amp; supplier credit financing facility<\/li>\n<li>Direct lending facility<\/li>\n<li>Export insurance policy<\/li>\n<li>Export refinancing facility<\/li>\n<li>Export working capital scheme<\/li>\n<li>Letter of credit guarantee scheme<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Find the latest information on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/country-cover-policy-and-indicators\"><abbr title=\"UK Export Finance\">UKEF<\/abbr>\u2019s country cover positions<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"contact \" id=\"contact_1093\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h3>Media enquiries: Julia Beck, Media Relations Manager<\/h3>\n<div class=\"vcard contact-inner\">\n<div class=\"email-url-number\">\n<p class=\"email\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Email<\/span><br \/>\n              <a class=\"email\" href=\"mailto:julia.beck@ukexportfinance.gov.uk\">julia.beck@ukexportfinance.gov.uk<\/a>\n            <\/p>\n<p class=\"tel\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Telephone<\/span><br \/>\n              +44 (0)7791 797810  or out-of-hours +44 (0)20 7215 3234\/3505\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK Export Finance (UKEF) has announced that it will provide US$400 million in support for a GE Oil &amp; Gas contract with Ghana&#8217;s Offshore Cape Three Points Project<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77992"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78013,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77992\/revisions\/78013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}