Akin Gump Advises on European Oil & Gas Deal of the Year at the IJGlobal Awards

March 11, 2016IJGlobal

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(London) – International law firm Akin Gump has advised on the transaction awarded European Oil & Gas deal of 2015 last night at the annual IJGlobal Awards. The Awards celebrate best-in-class energy and infrastructure deals over the past year. The winning transaction was the Shah Deniz II Project Financing in Azerbaijan, which signed in August 2015 and closed in October 2015.

Akin Gump advised PJSC LUKOIL on the $1 billion project financing to fund further development of the Shah Deniz gas field (Phase 2) in the South Caspian Sea offshore Azerbaijan. The project is being financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Asian Development Bank (ADB), which are providing direct financing of $250 million each, while Black Sea Trade and Development Bank is providing $60 million. In addition, $440 million of the financing is being provided by commercial lenders, including Bank of China, London Branch, ING Bank N.V., Société Générale, Unicredit Bank Austria AG and Raiffeisen Bank International AG, through a B loan facility with EBRD and ADB.

Proceeds from the loan will be applied to develop the Shah Deniz field, with the intention to significantly increase production, which will feed a Southern transportation corridor through Georgia and Turkey for delivery to Greece, Bulgaria and Italy. The loan is provided to LUKOIL Overseas Shah Deniz Limited, which owns a 10 per cent interest in the Shah Deniz project.

Akin Gump London finance partner Robert Aulsebrook led the team with Moscow corporate partner, Natalia Baratiants. They were supported by counsel and associates from across the firm’s London, Moscow, Washington, D.C. and Abu Dhabi offices.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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