BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 23
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will help the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation (GOGC) to refinance $250 million worth of Eurobonds, Trend reports via the EBRD.
The state-owned corporation issued 5-year Eurobonds in 2016 and their repayment period would have expired in April 2021. The securities were traded on the London Stock Exchange.
The EBRD said in a statement that the funding agreement was made in response to the economic shock caused by COVID-19. In addition, the financial package will support the planned reforms in the state company. These include the development of the natural gas exchange market.
The project is a senior unsecured loan of 217 million euros to JSC Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, a major Georgian electricity and natural gas supplier, to refinance a $250 million corporate Eurobond maturing in April 2021.
The project is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused significant shocks on the financial markets and an economic downturn in Georgia. A comprehensive Technical Cooperation ("TC") package will encompass sector reform, corporate-level improvements focused on climate corporate governance, and supporting the role of women in technical positions in the energy sector as well as a TC to identify and quantify the investment requirements in the country to generate and transport green hydrogen as well as to upgrade the GOGC's assets to transport the blended hydrogen to end users domestically or regionally.
The loan will ease cash flow pressure and address liquidity constraints for the GOGC resulting from the significant economic turmoil caused by COVID-19 and the difficulty for the GOGC to access the capital markets.
The bank will assist in the design and implementation of gas exchange in Georgia. The project involves a comprehensive ESAP, entailing the addition of specific E&S functionality in the GOGC at the corporate level, and support for the development of a strategic long-term roadmap. The project also includes the development of an Equal Opportunities Action Plan ("EOAP").
GOGC is 100 percent owned by JSC Partnership Fund, a national investment fund owned 100 percent by the Government of Georgia. GOGC's principal activities are electricity generation and supply, natural gas supply, and the ownership and leasing of pipelines.
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