Dolphin Energy has signed a $1 billion Islamic financing agreement with 14 banks for its project to develop and transfer gas from Qatar to the UAE.

The Dolphin Gas Project is on track to deliver gas next year as construction of two offshore production platforms in Qatar nears completion and another project is about to start in Abu Dhabi, a company spokesman said.
The $1 billion Islamic financing facility is by far the largest Sharia compliant oil and gas financing transaction to date, said Aref Kooheji, executive vice-president and head of corporate and investment banking for Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), a lead bank.
Dolphin initiative is scheduled to come onstream at the end of next year.
"More important than mere size, though, are the innovations achieved in this transaction, and the role they will play in the development of Sharia compliant financing in the future," he said.
"The lead banks believe that the Dolphin transaction sets valuable precedents that will serve as benchmarks for Islamically structured project financings for years to come," said the DIB official.
The Dolphin initiative involves the development of substantial natural gas reserves from Qatar's offshore North Field, their processing onshore at Qatar's Ras Laffan - and transportation by export pipeline of up to 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) capacity of refined natural gas to the UAE.
Dolphin appointed five banks with Sharia supervisory committees to lead the financing of a portion of the project, officials said, naming them as ABN Amro Bank, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Gulf International Bank.
Dolphin also invited other banks, including a number that had never invested in Islamically structured financing facilities before, to join the financing.
Under the four-year facility, Dolphin will construct the portion of the project relating to the transportation system on behalf of the Islamic investors, and enter into a forward lease agreement for the use of such assets, officials said.
The massive Dolphin gas project, expected to come on line at the end of next year, involves the production and processing of natural gas from Qatar's North Field and transportation of the dry gas by pipeline to the UAE.
Dolphin is building a multi-billion-dollar regional network to export the gas via a submerged pipeline from Qatar, to Abu Dhabi, and then on to Dubai and Oman.
On the occasion of closing, Dolphin CEO Ahmed Al Sayegh said,"Dolphin, with the support of its shareholders, Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi, Total, and Occidental Petroleum Corporation, has always been interested in offering banks an Islamically structured investment option, and in contributing to the growth of the market for Islamic financing.
"We are extremely pleased to have partnered with our lead banks in the design and execution of such a substantial and innovative Shari'a compliant financing structure that has indeed attracted investors from around the world."
In addition to the five lead banks, the other participants in the transaction are: HSBC Amanah, Barclays Bank, Natexis Banques Populaire, Societe Generale, West LB, Export Development Canada (EDC), Sanpaolo IMI, China Construction Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar.
The four-year financing facility is structured as an Istisna'a transaction, in which Dolphin enters into an agreement to construct the portion of the project relating to the transportation system on behalf of the Islamic investors, and enters into a Forward Lease Agreement for the use of such assets.
Each of the five lead banks has an assigned role in the financing:
BNP Paribas served as Documentation Bank, led the negotiations on behalf of the banks, and played a special role in facilitating the investment of EDC of Canada. Gulf International Bank served as Islamic Facility Agent, and will lead the day to day administration of the financing. ABN Amro is serving as Security Trustee. Citigroup and Dubai Islamic Bank served as Bookrunners of the transaction, coordinating the syndication of the facility.
Al Sayegh said, "Dolphin is very proud of the dedicated and capable efforts of our lead banks in working with us on the timely structuring and execution of this historic transaction.
"We are delighted that many of our conventional lenders have chosen to join in our Islamic facility, and we extend a warm welcome to all the new members of the Dolphin financing family."
Dolphin Energy also said it signed a deal to supply Oman with 200 million cubic feet per day of natural gas starting 2008.
"The company has signed a gas sales agreement with Oman Oil Company (OOC) to deliver an average 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to OOC from early 2008," Dolphin said, adding that it was a 25-year agreement.
Dolphin has already started to supply natural gas to the UAE emirates of Fujairah and Ras Al-Khaimah.