NextDecade engages SMBC

Next Decade LLC has engaged Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) as Financial Advisor and Mandated Lead Arranger for its Rio Grande LNG export project.

SMBC will be responsible for securing debt financing for the LNG project. It will also advise Rio Grande LNG, and ultimately lead the international banking syndicate, in securing long-term capital for the LNG project’s construction.

Kathleen Eisbrenner, Chairman and CEO of NextDecade, said: "As one of the world's largest lenders in the LNG industry, SMBC boasts an impressive track record of successful energy project financing. Their commitment to our project represents yet another NextDecade partnership that both strengthens and adds credibility to our efforts."

NextDecade has also worked alongside CB&I, Jefferies LLC, and investors York Capital Management, Valinor Management L.P. and Halcyon Energy Investors L.P., who recently injected an additional US$85 million investment into NextDecade.

Juan Kreutz, Executive Director and Head of SMBC's Natural Resources Group, said: "Our relationship with Next Decade reaffirms SMBC's expertise in, and commitment to, financing large-scale, complex LNG projects both in the United States and abroad."

To date, SMBC has extended over US$2.6 billion to North American LNG transactions. It has advised and arranged financing for more than 20 liquefaction and 11 regasification projects around the world, including all North American LNG liquefaction projects closed to date that were project financed.

Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquefaction/05082015/nextdecade-engages-smbc-1100/