KUALA LUMPUR: Yinson Holdings Bhd’s unit and its project partner Sumitomo Corporation have inked a US$670mil or RM2.84bil (US$1 to RM4.24) ) syndicated loan facility for the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) Anna Nery project offshore Brazil.

       Yinson said on Wednesday its Singapore-based unit Yinson Production Offshore Pte Ltd (YPOPL) and Sumitomo had entered into the facility with ING, Natixis and Standard Chartered Bank as underwriting banks.

       The agreement was also signed by AmBank, United Overseas Bank Ltd, Mizuho Bank Ltd and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) who are participating as senior lenders.

       “The five-year limited recourse loan will be used to refinance an existing US$400mil bridge loan received in September 2020.

       The loan also will support the ongoing construction of FPSO Anna Nery for the project awarded to Yinson by Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) in October 2019. Sumitomo owns a 25% stake in the project.

       The FPSO is destined for the Marlim field located in the eastern part of the Campos Basin, about 150km offshore Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

       “The deal has been positively received by the investment community with several banks expressing interest to participate, including Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhad which is expected to participate in the syndication phase,” it said.

       Yinson Group chief strategy officer Daniel Bong said this deal is believed to be the first of its kind in the FPSO financing space. It was made possible through the group’s long-standing strong relationships with the underwriting banks.

       Bong said the deal was sealed amid significant challenges in the FPSO financing space, which have been compounded over the past year by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and evolving investor appetites due to the energy transition.

       Yinson’s CEO of offshore production Flemming Gr？nnegaard said he project team’s continuing ability to meet construction milestones was crucial in cementing the support of the underwriting banks for the mini perm.

       “With support of our client, contractors and subcontractors, we are pleased to have reached the halfway mark of the EPCIC phase of construction as per schedule despite challenging circumstances exacerbated by the pandemic.

       “We have recently completed the final drydocking campaign at Cosco shipyard in China and are well on track for delivery in the last quarter of 2022,” he said.

       Yinson loan Aug21