BP Corp North America and Chinese giant CNOOC would be guarantors for the loan. They have appointed Societe Generale as their financial advisor.
Production on the BP-operated Tangguh project, located in West Papua, about 3000km east of Jakarta, is set to start in 2008.
Tangguh will be a centrepiece of BP's Asia-Pacific gas operations. Total cost is estimated to be close to US$5 billion, with the project providing about 6% of total global LNG demand.
The Fujian LNG terminal in southern China, lead-developed by CNOOC Gas & Power, has closed financing and will have a capacity of 2.6 million million tonnes a year in its first phase.
Construction is underway and due for completion in late 2007. A 2.4 million million tonnes per year expansion is planned to come on line in 2012. The proposed terminal has a long-term contract with BP for supplies from Tangguh.
