Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) plans to mobilise Rs 2,200 crore from the domestic and external markets to part-finance its captive port with re-gassification facilities at Kochi.
The total project cost is about Rs 3,195 crore, of which PLL has already spent Rs 400 crore through internal accruals, Mr Amitava Sengupta, Director (Finance & Commercial), PLL, told Business Line.
The construction of the LNG terminal of 2.5 million tonnes a year (mtpa) is in progress and the entire project is expected to be completed by 2011 and commissioned in 2012.
Meanwhile, PLL has already firmed up the lenders who will part-finance the project, he said.
The Cabinet approval on February 23 for the project has given PLL a legal backing that would enable the company to achieve financial closure as well as raise finance, Mr Sengupta said. The Cabinet has allowed PLL to sign the concession agreement with the Kochi port authorities.
“We plan to execute the project with a debt-equity of 70:30. The company has finalised Rs 1,400 crore from lenders such as SBI, Canara Bank, and Punjab National Bank,” Mr Sengupta said.
Foreign funds
As regards accessing funds from the overseas market, he said that Petronet plans to raise close to $300 million.
“Of this, we have already tied up $100 million from a French lender,” he said. The borrowings will have a 13-year tenor with an average maturity period of 7.5-8 years. Subsequent to the Cabinet approval, PLL can now draw down funds from these lenders, said Mr Sengupta.
In fact, GDF International (GDFI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of French national gas company Gaz De France, holds 10 per cent stake in PLL. Apart from the French company, ONGC, GAIL (India), Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and the Asian Development Bank, a member of the World Bank Group, hold stake in the company. The public holding is 34.8 per cent.
On whether the gas source has been firmed up for the project, he said that the company is not restricting itself to one source (Exxon’s share from the Gorgon project), but is exploring other sources as well.
The total project cost is about Rs 3,195 crore, of which PLL has already spent Rs 400 crore through internal accruals, Mr Amitava Sengupta, Director (Finance & Commercial), PLL, told Business Line.
The construction of the LNG terminal of 2.5 million tonnes a year (mtpa) is in progress and the entire project is expected to be completed by 2011 and commissioned in 2012.
Meanwhile, PLL has already firmed up the lenders who will part-finance the project, he said.
The Cabinet approval on February 23 for the project has given PLL a legal backing that would enable the company to achieve financial closure as well as raise finance, Mr Sengupta said. The Cabinet has allowed PLL to sign the concession agreement with the Kochi port authorities.
“We plan to execute the project with a debt-equity of 70:30. The company has finalised Rs 1,400 crore from lenders such as SBI, Canara Bank, and Punjab National Bank,” Mr Sengupta said.
Foreign funds
As regards accessing funds from the overseas market, he said that Petronet plans to raise close to $300 million.
“Of this, we have already tied up $100 million from a French lender,” he said. The borrowings will have a 13-year tenor with an average maturity period of 7.5-8 years. Subsequent to the Cabinet approval, PLL can now draw down funds from these lenders, said Mr Sengupta.
In fact, GDF International (GDFI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of French national gas company Gaz De France, holds 10 per cent stake in PLL. Apart from the French company, ONGC, GAIL (India), Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and the Asian Development Bank, a member of the World Bank Group, hold stake in the company. The public holding is 34.8 per cent.
On whether the gas source has been firmed up for the project, he said that the company is not restricting itself to one source (Exxon’s share from the Gorgon project), but is exploring other sources as well.