The bank is acting as sole lead manager and underwriter on the transaction, expected to be worth $240 million-280 million, but has approached a club of local and international banks to join the deal, which will be backed by German export credit agency Hermes.

Germany's Promanis carrying out the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract and OMC has an offtake agreement with Helm, also of Germany, for output from phase 1 of the plant, which will have capacity of 3,000 tonnes a day. First production is due by the end of 2006. A subsequent expansion is planned to double output.

In August, OMC signed a 25-year agreement with the government for the supply of natural gas feedstock for the plant (MEED 27:8:04).