Hoegh Secures $250 Million Loan for Lithuanian FRSU

Norwegian infrastructure provider Hoegh LNG has announced today that it has secured financing of $250 million to provide a floating storage regasification unit (FRSU) for the Port of Klaipeda LNG terminal in Lithuania.

The company said today that it had received letters of commitment from four banks, DNB Bank, Nordea Bank Norge, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and Swedbank for the financing of the unit. It also said that 75% of this corporate financing facilitate would be guaranteed by Korean credit agency K-sure and Norwegian credit agency GIEK.

President and CEO of Hoegh, Sveinung J. S. Stohle, said that the finance facility would ensure that the Lithuanian LNG terminal would achieve its expected start-up date.

"We are very pleased to have closed the financing of the Klaipedos Nafta FSRU with four of our Scandinavian core banks and having both Korean and Norwegian export credit agencies guaranteeing the facility," he said. "This confirms and underlines Hoegh LNG’s ability to raise long-term debt financing for its FSRU projects at competitive terms. We are also very pleased with the Klaipedos Nafta FSRU project being on schedule in all aspects for a planned start-up in Q3 2014."

Hoegh first won the contract for the project, Lithuania's first LNG terminal, in January 2012. The Lithuanian government is heavily backing the project, with a resolution passed in June this year requiring at least 25 per cent of all Lithuanian gas supply to come from the Port of Klaipeda terminal. It is hoped that the construction of the project will help to break the country's reliance on the import of gas from Russian supplier Gazprom.

Lithuanian company Klaipedos Nafta, in which the Lithuanian government has a 72 per cent stake, is the operator of the LNG terminal.