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ENRON CONSORTIUM COMPLETES FINANCING OF ITALIAN POWER PROJECT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, December 3, 1996
Houston -- Enron today announced that it has achieved financial close on a US$1.35 billion power project in Italy. Enron owns a 45 percent interest in the project, and 55 percent is owned by Saras S.p.A., Raffinerie Sarde (Saras).
The 551 megawatt power project will employ combined cycle and proven oil gasification technology and will be located within the Saras refinery on the island of Sardinia. Saras will provide fuel for the plant in the form of process residues, which through gasification technology, will be converted into synthesis gas. The gas will be used in the combined cycle section of the plant to fuel three GE/Nuovo Pignone 9E gas turbines in combined cycle configuration. Electricity from the plant will be sold to Ente Nazionale per l'Energia Elettrica S.p.A. (ENEL), the Italian state owned utility, through a
20-year power purchase agreement. Construction of the power project is expected to be completed by late 1999.
"We are very pleased to have worked with Saras in bringing this project to financial closure," said Kenneth L. Lay, Chairman and CEO of Enron. "It demonstrates our success in bringing large scale energy projects and environmentally sensitive technologies to our customers around the world."
The power project is being underwritten by a group of international banks that are underwriting approximately US$651 million (990.0 billion Lire) of funding to the project and approximately US$493 million (750 billion Lire) of guarantees on behalf of the European Investment Bank (EIB), which also is providing funding to the project.
Enron, one of the world's largest integrated natural gas and electricity companies with approximately $15 billion in assets, operates one of the largest natural gas transmission systems in the world; is the largest purchaser and marketer of natural gas and the largest non-regulated marketer of electricity in North America; markets natural gas liquids worldwide; manages the largest portfolio of fixed-price natural gas risk management contracts in the world; is among the leading entities arranging new capital to the energy industry; owns 58 percent of Enron Oil & Gas Company, one of the largest independent (non-integrated) exploration and production companies in the United States; owns 59 percent of Enron Global Power & Pipelines L.L.C., which is owner and manager of operating power plants and natural gas pipelines around the world; and is one of the largest independent developers and producers of electricity in the world. Enron is traded under the ticker symbol, "ENE."
For additional information please contact:
Kelly Kimberly
(713) 853-5377
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