INTERVIEW

Project Financing for High-Voltage
Direct Current Oﬀshore Electricity
Transmission Project in Abu Dhabi
Supporting Project Involving Japanese Company
Supplying Electricity to Oil and Gas Production Facilities
Interview with FUSE Haruka
Division 2, New Energy and Power Finance Department I,
Infrastructure and Environment Finance Group (at that time)

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed in
September 2022 a loan agreement in project ﬁnancing (PF) amounting
to up to approximately USD1,201 million (JBICʼs share) with Abu
Dhabi Oﬀshore Power Transmission Company Limited L.L.C., anEmirati incorporated company. The project, which Kyushu ElectricPower Company, Incorporated (Kyushu Electric Power) and others
invested in, was for a high voltage direct current (HVDC) oﬀshore
electricity transmission project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The loan was co-ﬁnanced with the Export-Import Bank of Korea,
Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, BNP Paribas
Fortis, and Standard Chartered Bank, bringing the total ﬁnancing
amount to approximately USD3,201 million.

More Eﬃcient Electricity Transmission Contributing
toward GHG Emission Reductions in Abu Dhabi
This project will build,own, and operate a HVDC
subsea transmission
system that links twooﬀshore production
facilities owned by theAbu Dhabi National Oil
Company (ADNOC) withthe onshore power grid in
Abu Dhabi. This is the ﬁrst
HVDC subsea transmission project in the Middle East, and for theKyushu Electric Power group, it is the ﬁrst overseas powertransmission project.
FUSE says, “The project will help to reduce GHG emissions in Abu
Dhabi by supplying power generated more eﬃciently on the UAE
mainland to ADNOCʼs oﬀshore production facilities instead of power
generated oﬀshore. The project is in line with the Net Zero by 2050
Strategic Initiative announced in October 2021 in which the UAE
government committed itself to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Project Creates Opportunity to Support JapaneseCompany and Strengthen Relationship with Abu Dhabi
Kyushu Electric Power contacted JBIC for PF support around April
2020, when the project was put out to tender.
FUSE says: “Kyushu Electric Power was seeking a new type ofﬁnancing that JBIC had not oﬀered before. At the early stage, further
risk analysis and internal arrangements were required in addition toregular due diligence. Initial negotiations with the sponsors overﬁnancial conditions sometimes continued through the night.
However, the negotiations stalled around the time I joined theteam in July 2021.
JBIC has ﬁnanced multiple projects in Abu Dhabi and longdeveloped a good relationship with ADNOC through ﬁnancial supportand memorandums of understanding (MOU). The MOU between
ADNOC and JBIC was renewed in November 2021 with a focus on
decarbonization, energy transition, and energy eﬃciency, and at that

FUSE Haruka
opportunity, we provided multi-level support in collaboration with theEnergy Solutions Finance Department and the Representative Oﬃce inDubai, such as high-level dialogues with the UAE government, relevant
institutions, and ADNOC.”

Structuring Financing While Construction Is in Progress
Around the end of 2021, the power purchase agreement between
ADNOC and the project company concluded, after which ﬁnancial
discussions began in earnest.
“We had to negotiate the ﬁnancial documents in a tight schedulewith various parties, including ADNOC, Kyushu Electric Power, Korea
Electric Power Corporation, and Electricité de France, to align theﬁnancing schedule with the construction progress. When thenegotiation ran into another diﬃculty in its ﬁnal phase over someessential conditions for JBIC, we continued persevering throughdialogues, and in the end we managed to reach a consensus in a waythat would strengthen our relationship going forward,” summarizes FUSE.

Further Supporting Overseas Deployment of Japanʼs HighTechnology Electricity Transmission System and Businesses
The Japanese government states that in the midst of the global movefoward decarbonization, it is important for Japan to improve theinternational competitiveness of its industry through support for thedevelopment and social implementation of decarbonization
technologies by Japanese corporations. Also, it has established thepolicy of providing support for the transition to carbon neutrality anddecarbonization through constructive involvement in host countriesʼ
policies toward energy transition and decarbonization along with theprovision of ﬁnancial support for quality energy and electricity
infrastructure that harnesses sophisticated technologies to reduce theburden on the environment in a way that is compatible with theenergy policy of earch country.
Looking back on the project, FUSE says: “It was a very valuable
experience for me to support such an important project as a memberof JBIC. By not only involving a Japanese sponsor but also deploying
Japanese companiesʼ highly eﬃcient subsea cables and converters,
this project will contribute toward both the overseas deployment ofJapanʼs high-level technology and decarbonization in the UAE. This
experience encourages me to continue to support Japanese companies
and sustainability initiatives.”
As Japanʼs policy-based ﬁnancial institution, JBIC will continue toprovide ﬁnancial support toassist Japanese companies inthe overseas expansion of
their infrastructure businesses
toward decarbonization by
drawing on its various
ﬁnancial facilities and schemes
for structuring projects and by
performing its risk-assuming
function.