May 17, 2007

U.S. Exports to India for $6 Billion Refinery and Petrochemical Complex Are Backed by Ex-Im Bank $500 Million Loan Guarante

Reliance Petroleum Ltd. (RPL) of India will build a $6 billion state-of-the-art oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Jamnagar Gujarat, India, using U.S. equipment, technology and services financed by a $500 million loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank).

RPL's primary shareholder, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), is a Fortune 500 company and the largest private company in India. The new refinery will be the world's sixth largest and will be located adjacent to RIL's existing refinery and petrochemical complex in Jamnagar. Together the two refineries will comprise the largest refining complex in the world.

Bechtel Corp., Houston, Tex., is providing design, procurement, project management and other services. Major U.S. exporters also participating in the project include: Black & Veatch International Co., Kansas City, Mo., for sulfur recovery and gas treatment units; Dow Global Technologies, Inc., Midland, Mich., for licensing and services for the polypropylene plant process; Foster Wheeler Corp., Clinton, N.J., for fired heaters for the refinery's coker; and UOP LLC, Des Plaines, Ill., for the catalytic converter reactor section and PSA (Pressure Swing Absorption) packages. Citibank N.A., New York, N.Y., is the guaranteed lender on the transaction.

"Ex-Im Bank's long and successful relationship with the RIL group of companies, dating back to the early 1980s, has contributed to growth in the dynamic Indian market while helping to create U.S. jobs," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President James H. Lambright. "We hope to support future RIL projects in other industrial sectors."

"This transaction is yet another affirmation from Ex-Im Bank of the growth potential that they see in India and in particular the Reliance Group," said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of RIL and chairman of RPL. "We look forward to deepening and strengthening our valued relationship with Ex-Im Bank."

Once completed in December, 2008, the refinery will be among the most modern and complex in the world, capable of producing high quality fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel diesel, alkylates, naphtha, kerosene, as well as polypropylene. The refinery's Nelson Complexity Index is 14, compared to the average index of 10 in the United States. This is a measure of the refinery's technological processing capabilities.

Ex-Im Bank's exposure to India, including the current project, is approximately $3.1 billion, with $1.17 billion in additional pending final commitments.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent U.S. government agency that assists in financing the export of U.S. goods and services to markets around the world, through export credit insurance, loan guarantees, and direct loans. In fiscal year 2006, Ex-Im Bank authorized over $12.1 billion in transactions supporting an estimated $16.1 billion in U.S. exports.

Source : Export-Import Bank of the United States

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