OPIC provides $350M finance for Unocal?s West Seno oil, gas project

US government agency Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) announced on Tuesday that it will provide support of up to $350 million in financing for the West Seno offshore crude oil and natural gas fields in the Makassar Strait offshore East Kalimantan, which is operated by California based oil and gas firm Unocal Corp.

OPIC said the project, which would be divided into two phases, would yield an estimated 145 million barrels of oil.

According to OPIC, West Seno I, the first project, will feature construction of a deep-water production platform, a floating processing unit, and two 60-kilometer oil and gas pipelines from the platform to an existing terminal at Santan; and the drilling of more than 20 production wells. OPIC is providing a $300 million loan to this project.

West Seno II, which will receive a $50 million loan from OPIC, will involve construction of a second deep-water drilling platform and the drilling of an additional 20+ production wells. The second project will share processing and transportation infrastructure with the first.

?OPIC's financing nearly singlehandedly fulfills a joint initiative of OPIC, the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to provide $400 million in loans and guarantees to finance U.S. investments in Indonesia. The initiative, announced last September, specifically targeted the oil and gas sector,? said OPIC in a statement. (alex)