The Egyptian Refinery Company is planning to complete funding its $3.5bn Mostorod refinery project in the second quarter of 2010.

France’s Societe Generale, the financial adviser on the project, has completed negotiations with the five export credit agencies (ECAs) working on the deal. It plans to approach banks for additional funds at the end of February.

The five ECAs involved are Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC), the Export Import Bank of Korea (Kexim), Japan’s Nippon Export & Investment Insurance (Nexi), European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The total project debt will be $2.3bn, split between a JBIC and Nexi loan of $900m. Kexim will provide guarantees on a bank tranche of $675m, and the EIB and AfDB could provide the rest.

EIB provides direct loans but requires banks to offer guarantees on its commitments.

Societe Generale is also working with four commercial banks, the UK’s HSBC, France’s Calyon, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi and Egypt’s CIB Bank, to help finance the project. The four institutions have been acting as “pathfinder” banks, helping structure the financing and also preparing to lend on the deal.

When banks are approached, they will be asked to fund either the ECA-guaranteed tranches or make direct loans.

Egyptian Refining Company is a consortium of local investment house Citadel Capital, which holds 85 per cent, and state oil company Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation holds 15 per cent.