Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) has advised the sponsor, Amiral Holdings, and the project company, Sonker Bunkering Company (‘Sonker’), on the financing of Sonker’s proposed bulk liquids storage terminal at Sokhna Port in Egypt. The terminal, strategically located on the Red Sea Coast and near the Suez Canal, will be primarily dedicated to the import of gasoil and liquefied petroleum gas (‘LPG’) under a long-term supply point agreement with Egyptian General Petroleum Company (‘EGPC’), but will also host a floating storage and regasification unit (‘FSRU’) for import of liquefied natural gas (‘LNG’) and provide ammonia export facilities to Egypt Basic Industries Corporation.

The project is financed by equity and a $295m package of senior and mezzanine term loan facilities arranged by IFC, EBRD and Commercial International Bank of Egypt. The project infrastructure, including new pipeline connections to the national grid, will provide additional LPG and gasoil import capacity for Egypt, thereby improving security of supply to the Egyptian economy. The project will also represent a material expansion of facilities at Sokhna Port. The financing sees one of the first deployments of IFC’s managed co-lending portfolio programme (‘MCPP’) product. 

This is the first greenfield oil and gas project financing to close in Egypt since the Mostorod Refinery in 2012, which, at the time, was the largest ever financing to take place in Africa.

The Freshfields team was led by partners Tim Pick (who also led the Mostorod Refinery financing) and Gabriel Mpubani. Tim and Gabriel were supported by senior associate Massimo Amoruso and associate Hardip Syan.