TUBRIDGI — HOW DO SMALL COMPANIES OBTAIN PROJECT FINANCE

Abstract

In the current climate, petroleum companies with limited financial resources can expect to experience considerable difficulty in funding their projects. Without the presence of a substantial partner, able and prepared to guarantee completion, projects will need to be exceptional to attract finance. However, the strengths of the Tubridgi Gas Project (Tubridgi) together with the nature of the partnership between Barclays and the sponsors ensured that Tubridgi could proceed without support from a major.

A financier's involvement in the final stages of project evaluation and planning can facilitate the project's financing. The early participation by a financier can ensure that critical agreements and studies are bankable, without the need for time consuming and expensive redrafts or additional programs, and may allow the financier to optimise the funding structure to the project sponsor's requirements. This situation can enable the project's sponsors to take advantage of the financier's experience as a reliable source of technical and commercial advice during the process of the technical audit whilst providing the financier with a high degree of comfort regarding the project.

The focus for financiers is almost exclusively upon project risk whereas sponsors are able to consider the balancing rewards of 'upside potential'. Without careful management, this difference of viewpoint can lead to difficulties, with financiers requiring a level of certainty, in resource appraisal and project completion, beyond many project sponsors' expectations. Careful appraisal and mitigation of risk during project planning and execution enabled Tubridgi to proceed without the need for the sponsors to 'give away the farm'.