Hunton Andrews Kurth Advises on Pearl Petroleum Company’s $250 Million Financing Agreement with U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP represented the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”) in connection with a $250 million financing agreement with Pearl Petroleum Company Limited (“Pearl Petroleum”), in support of gas expansion works currently under way at the Khor Mor gas plant in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

The KM-250 project is the first stage of a two-train expansion project at Khor Mor that aims to boost total production capacity to approach 1 billion standard cubic feet per day. Proceeds from the 7-year DFC financing will support an increase in gas production capacity by 60% to 700 million standard cubic feet per day, to meet rising demand for clean natural gas for electricity generation and industry in the KRI.

By providing uninterrupted supply of gas to power plants in Erbil, Chemchemal and Bazian, the project has resulted in significant fuel cost savings and economic benefits for the Kurdistan Region and has enabled emissions savings of 42 million tonnes of CO2 by displacing diesel fuel in power generation in the KRI, thereby making a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution in the region.

The Hunton Andrews Kurth team included Jamie Head, Ferdinand Calice, Patricia Tiller and Katrina Fogarty.