Prime Highlights
- Afreximbank approved $200 million in financing to support the $980 million Hassi Bir Rekaiz Phase 2a project in Algeria.
- Kanayo Awani said the deal enables an African-owned engineering group to compete at the highest levels of global project execution.
Key Facts
- Afreximbank is Africa’s export-import bank, acting as sole mandated lead arranger and lender for the transaction.
- The project is expected to raise production capacity from 13,000 barrels per day to between 50,000 and 60,000 barrels per day and create around 6,000 jobs.
Background
The African Export-Import Bank has approved a $200 million financing facility to support the development of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz Field Phase 2a project in Algeria. Approved in June, the facility will fund Shoreline Power Company Limited, Arkad SpA, and other co-borrowers.
The financing supports Arkad’s 44 percent share of a $980 million engineering, procurement and construction contract awarded by Groupement Hassi Bir Rekaiz, a joint venture between Sonatrach, PTTEP and CEPSA. Afreximbank acted as sole mandated lead arranger and lender for the deal.
The package includes a $110 million contract finance facility for performance guarantees, advance payment guarantees and working capital, along with a $90 million revolving facility to help Shoreline and its affiliates bid for and deliver pipeline projects in Nigeria and other approved markets.
The Phase 2a development involves building a central processing facility expected to raise production capacity from around 13,000 barrels per day to between 50,000 and 60,000 barrels per day.
The deal follows the fourth Intra-African Trade Fair, held in Algeria last September, where Afreximbank supported collaboration between Arkad and Egypt’s Petrojet, a partnership that later secured the HBR contract. Structured under Afreximbank’s EPC Initiative, the financing aims to strengthen African engineering firms’ ability to compete for large infrastructure projects. The bank said the project is expected to generate around 6,000 jobs and support regional supply chains.
Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President at Afreximbank, said the transaction enables an African-owned engineering group to compete at the highest levels of global project execution, while advancing intra-African trade among Nigeria, Italy and Egypt.
Afreximbank said this marks its first support for a Sub-Saharan African contractor on a major North African infrastructure project.
