Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank will be financing the African gas field’s second development phase
London-listed player Sound Energy has secured crucial funding for executing the second development phase of the company’s Tendrara production concession in Morocco.
The company confirmed the funding arrangement in a statement and said that it has “now received a conditioned offer from the arranger for a maximum financing of $237 million”, subject to certain conditions being met by September 2023.
Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank will be financing the gas field’s second development phase, it stated.
The financial facility will be used for the “design, drilling, construction and operation of wells, a treatment facility (CPF) and a gas pipeline to transport and sell the natural gas produced under the Tendrara production concession”, the company noted.
The financing package comprises a 12-year term with a two-year grace period from the first drawdown.
The loan issuance depends on conditions including obtaining approval from Moroccan governmental and ministerial authorities, tax authority clearance for the loan structure, and an amendment of the gas sales agreement.
Sound Energy currently holds a 75% stake in the African concession, while Morocco’s National Bureau for Hydrocarbons and Minerals holds the remaining 25% stake.
Graham Lyon, executive chairman of Sound Energy, said that the financing deal with bank Attijariwafa “will be the first financing of its size for a gas field development in Morocco”.
