Geneva-based trader Gunvor has renewed a $1.565 billion loan facility to support its growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) business.
According to a statement by Gunvor on Wednesday, the syndication launched at $1.2 billion and was oversubscribed, with “strong appetite” from new lenders, including more than 20 banks from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia while six new banks joined.
After that, the syndicated borrowing base increased from $1.135 billion to $1.565 billion.
The facility, which was inaugurated last year, has been structured around Gunvor’s global LNG trade flows, including shipping activities, and will finance physical and derivative positions.
As a part of the facility, Gunvor said it had committed to CO2 carbon emissions reporting to establish transparency for the carbon footprint of the company’s LNG value chain.
“The very strong interest this financing has received from such a diversified pool of lenders reflects the global nature of Gunvor’s LNG activity,” Tawfik Sadfi, Gunvor’s head of structured trade finance said in the statement.
“LNG has secured a place as strategic commodity for both the energy transition and energy security,” Sadfi said.
Gunvor traded 99 million tonnes of crude oil, natural gas, LNG, and other commodities during the first half of the last year. This compares to 118 million tonnes in the same period last year.
The trader did not provide details regarding LNG volumes in the first half. This was also the case with 2020 and 2021.
According to the company’s website, Gunvor delivered 4 million tonnes in 2016, 7 million tonnes in 2017, 11 million tonnes in 2018, and 16 million tonnes in 2019.