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Globeleq completes ZAR 5.2bn refinancing for 238 MW in South Africa

The 138 MW Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm was commissioned back in 2014.

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Globeleq has announced the completion of a ZAR 5.2 billion debt financing package for three of its renewable energy facilities in South Africa: the 138 MW Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm, and the 50 MW De Aar Solar and 50 MW Droogfontein Solar plants.

The transaction falls under the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE) Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) Refinancing Protocol initiated in June 2020. The initiative works on a voluntary basis and targets IPPs from Bid Windows 1 to 3.5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Procurement Programme (REIPPP). The initiative can include a wide range of options such as maintaining existing debt levels and structure but reducing margins; increasing existing debt levels; increasing debt tenor; converting Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate debt to Consumer Price Index debt; replacing reserve accounts with contingent facilities; replacing junior debt with senior debt introducing preference shares; and restructuring existing risk management strategy and hedging policies. Its end goal is to contribute to the lowering of the wholesale price of electricity.

It had already resulting in South Africa’s largest infrastructure deal when the 50 MW Bokpoort CSP plant completed its refinancing in late 2020. The transaction had then created more favourable debt terms and effectively reduced the project’s cost of capital.

Globeleq’s projects refinancing is the second transaction to be executed under the protocol. New financing structures effectively unlock reduced tariff to Eskom, which in turn directly impacts the cost of electricity for South African consumers. Globeleq’s refinancing operation, for which Absa acted as the mandated lead arranger and sole underwriter, will save ESKOM ZAR 1 billion in tariff reductions across the three assets over the remaining 12-year term of the power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Details on REIPPP projects from Window 1 to 4 are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

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Africa Oil sets new plateau target for $3.4bn Project Oil Kenya – seeks partner prior to FID

Canadian junior African Oil Corp. has announced today a new production plateau of 120,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from Blocks 10BB and 13T onshore Kenya, up from the previous estimate of 100,000 bopd. Both licenses are located within the South Lokichar basin and are known as Project Oil Kenya, which Africa Oil Corp. intends to develop with its current partners TotalEnergies and Tullow Oil. The revised target notably follows changes in the project’s development concept in order to make it more commercially and environmentally viable.  The revised project has also reduced the overall unit cost from $31/bbl to $22/bbl, making the project more attractive in a lower oil prices environment. Africa Oil expects a gross oil recovery of 585m barrels over the life of the field following the audit of the resource position by Gaffney, Cline & Associates. Phase 1 would initially target the development of the Ngamia, Ekales, Amosing and Twiga (NEAT) fields. Future phases would eventually focus on additional exploration potential within the 10BB/13T licenses while bringing the 10BA license acreage into production. Compared to the previous field development plan, we have a more economically robust project, which I am confident is more attractive to potential new partners. Keith Hill, President & CEO, Africa Oil Corp. The new development concept notably entails a 130,000 bopd facility along with an increase of the pipeline size from 18’’ to 20’’. The three joint-venture partners still expect to submit a final field development plan (FDP) by the end of this year in order to secure a license extension. However, the taking of a final investment decision (FID) is unlikely until they have secured a new strategic partner, likely to take over Tullow Oil’s stake in the project. As it stands, the project is expected to require $3.4bn in investment, including $2bn for its upstream component and $1.4bn for the pipeline. Project Oil Kenya has in fact already produced 450,000 barrels via an early oil pilot scheme that was operational from June 2018 to June 2020. Oil was produced from the Amosing and Ngamia fields then trucked from Turkana to Mombasa. Full details on Project Oil Kenya are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

Dorman Long Engineering eyes expansion after equity investment from Africa Capitalworks

Dorman Long Engineering, one of Nigeria’s leading oilfields equipment, structural steel, marine structures engineering and fabrication company has just secured a significant investment from Africa Capitalworks to support its expansion. Established in Nigeria back in 1949, Dorman Long Engineering has grown to be one of Nigeria’s leading industrial and infrastructure development players, notably by servicing the country’s hydrocarbons industry. It operates three manufacturing facilities in Lagos, including one at its head office at Idi-Oro, a galvanising plant in Agege and a waterfront facility at the Navy Dockyard. It has successfully executed major engineering services works, including onshore flow stations and major structural fabrication and erection, amongst others, for almost all oil majors and energy services companies operating in Nigeria. More recently, it was a contractor on the Anyala & Madu fields development for First E&P, where first oil was achieved in October 2020. Each field is developed with an unmanned conductor supported platform (CSP), a novel drilling and development technology deployed in the Niger Delta by Dorman Long Engineering and its partners. The company is currently a subcontractor on Seplat Energy’s 300 MMscfd ANOH gas plant, for which it is in charge of the fabrication of several components. The project is Nigeria’s biggest ongoing gas infrastructure development at the moment. The fresh investment officialised today will support Dorman Long Engineering’s refurbishment of its equipment and help the company increase its regional footprint, Chairman Timi Austen-Peters told Hawilti. By expanding existing yards, acquiring additional facilities and expanding its service offering, the company notably aims to tap into new industries such as solar and hydropower. The entry of Africa CapitalWorks will notably support the roll out of such plans and is likely to see Dorman Long Engineering taking on more work across Nigeria while it ventures into neighbouring markets. Africa CapitalWorks Holdings (ACW) is a relatively new vehicle, launched by the CapitalWorks Group to target mid-market companies in sub-Saharan Africa. CDC, the UK’s development finance institution, is a cornerstone investor into ACW and invested $40m in the company back in August 2017. The other major investor is South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC).