ABSTRACT
Project finance is positioned at a key point between the global capital markets and the energy and infrastructure industries. The chapter presents a series of several cases studies from the pages of Thomson Reuters Project Finance International (PFI), the leading source of global project finance information. The Nord Stream project company is led by Gazprom, which holds 51 per cent, and also comprises BASFs Wintershall, E. ON Ruhrgas, and Gasunie. The projects revenues are set out in the gas transportation agreement with Gazprom export. Swiss-based project company Nord Stream has solely European accounts, but with the payments coming directly from Gazprom export this makes little difference from a lender protection perspective. The potential for banks hitting Russian exposure limits was avoided by the ECAs covering 80 per cent of the debt, but when the deal was presented to banks many were still keen for an offshore structure to protect against the reliance on Gazprom.
