GIEK (The Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency) has quadrupled its offshore wind portfolio to NOK 4.2bn (USD 453m) since the end of last year. State-owned GIEK manages an international portfolio of export-related guarantees that today totals USD 8.5bn. While its focus has traditionally been oil and gas and shipbuilding followed by fisheries and aquaculture, it has widened its mission to include offshore wind, and more generally banks and investors participating in large international energy-infrastructure projects.
GIEK's core offering are AAA-rated guarantees for long-term loan financing, as well as contractual delivery guarantees that protect both buyers and suppliers in case of default.
GIEK blazed a trail in the sector by providing service delivery guarantees totalling NOK 1.3bn towards the end of last year that enabled Norwegian supplier Aibel to clinch two European contracts. Aibel will supply two converter platforms with jackets for the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm in the UK zone of the North Sea. The deal includes an option for a third unit.
In February, it stepped in with a third guarantee package of an equal amount, this time on behalf of Fred Olsen Windcarrier for a project in Asia. The Fred Olsen Windcarrier deal involves a GIEK guarantee for a loan in Taiwanese dollars from Taiwanese banks. The Norwegian installation specialist will use its jack-up ships to install turbines on the 589-MW Changfang and Xidao wind farm off the coast of Changhua County.
GIEK also provided guarantee coverage amounting to around NOK 1.6bn that helped Nexans Norway secure a contract with the Seagreen offshore wind farm under development off the coast of Scotland. Nexans Norway’s design, engineering, production and installation contract with Seagreen will see it supply high-voltage transmission cables both offshore and on land.
