ADB Extends $400mn Loan to Tangguh LNG

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $400mn loan to help expand the Tangguh LNG production facility, one of the largest in Indonesia.

In July, BP and its partners approved the final investment decision (FID) to expand Tangguh LNG by adding a third train (Train 3) and 3.8mn mt/yr of production capacity, bringing total plant capacity to 11.4mn mt/yr. The project also includes two offshore platforms, 13 new production wells, an expanded LNG loading facility, and supporting infrastructure, BP said. Sources said that with falling costs in the industry the project was now put at the lower end of the $8bn-$10bn range.

The Tangguh expansion will be financed through a trustee borrower scheme, an arrangement typically used to finance natural gas infrastructure in Indonesia, ADB said December 16.

Train 3 is expected to start production in 2020. The two existing trains were financed by ADB, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and international commercial banks in 2006-2007. The ADB loan closed in 2014.

According to BP, about 75% of the Train 3 annual LNG production has been sold to the Indonesian state electricity company PT. PLN (Persero). The remaining volumes are under contract to Kansai Electric Power Company in Japan, the other foundation buyer for Train 3.

Shardul Sharma