Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
09/12/12
Summit Power Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sinopec Engineering Group and the Export-Import Bank of China to help finance a significant chunk of the company’s Texas Clean Energy Project, GHG Monitor has learned. The Export-Import Bank of China, also known as Chexim, will be TCEP’s sole financial lender and will provide support to Sinopec Engineering Group, the engineering subsidiary of the Chinese energy giant Sinopec Group, Summit said. Sinopec will be providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work for TCEP’s gasification and chemical block, according to Summit. The company said that Chexim’s loan amount will be based on a percentage of the dollar amount of Sinopec’s EPC contract, which could not be confirmed as of press time, and will be “sufficient to satisfy all of TCEP’s needs for project debt,” according to statement from Summit this morning. Laura Miller, director of Texas projects for Summit, could not be reached for comment as of press time.
GHG Monitor previously reported that Sinopec was mulling a $1 billion investment in the $2.5 billion Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle project set for west Texas, although it is unclear whether the contract finalized was for that amount. Otherwise, Summit confirmed that all other major contracts for TCEP are in place and that financial closing will occur at the end of the year. Summit also announced that the Minnesota-based CHS Inc., signed an offtake agreement for all 700,000 tons of urea that will be produced annually at TCEP. The Denver-based. Whiting Petroluem Corp. will also be purchasing a “major portion” of TCEP’s captured CO2 for nearby enhanced oil recovery operations in the Texas Permian Basin. Last year, Summit and CPS Energy, a utility owned by the city of San Antonio, signed a power purchase agreement for the utility to buy roughly 200 MW of the 340 MW of electricity generated annually at the poly-generation plant for 25 years. The developer also signed EPC contracts with Siemens Energy Inc., the Linde Group and SK Engineering & Construction. Construction is expected to begin early next year, with the project fully operational by 2017, Summit said.
For more information on the memorandum of understanding, please check back to Friday’s issue of GHG Monitor.
