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Red Sea Global Secures Financial Close on $522 Million Debt Financing with Riyad Bank

RSG said it has completed a $522 million financing agreement with Riyad Bank. SPA
RSG said it has completed a $522 million financing agreement with Riyad Bank. SPA
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Red Sea Global Secures Financial Close on $522 Million Debt Financing with Riyad Bank

RSG said it has completed a $522 million financing agreement with Riyad Bank. SPA
RSG said it has completed a $522 million financing agreement with Riyad Bank. SPA

Red Sea Global (RSG) said on Sunday that it has completed a SAR2 billion ($522 million) financing agreement with Riyad Bank.

According to a statement, the financing supports RSG's Joint Venture (JV) with Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), a prominent global investment company headquartered in Saudi Arabia, for the development of the highly anticipated Four Seasons Resort at The Red Sea destination.

"The Kingdom's tourism potential is truly limitless, and with our first two hotels now open, we are at the vanguard of putting Saudi Arabia on the global tourism map. Riyad Bank has been with us since our first debt financing deal in 2021, and we're honored to have them partner with us once again,” said RSG CEO John Pagano.

He also said that the Four Seasons Resort, situated on Shura Island, is set to be a luxury property offering 159 exquisite guest rooms, adding that Shura Island is part of the first phase of development, which will include 11 luxury, premium, and lifestyle hotels and resorts, residential units, a championship golf course, a 118-berth marina, and a comprehensive retail, dining, and entertainment complex.

"RSG has an incredible responsibility to be an enabler of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and added to this, it set its own incomparable ambitions to deliver development in a way that is responsible and regenerative,” said Riyad Bank CEO Nadir Al-Koraya.

“We believed in the vision its leadership presented back then at our first encounter, and last year, when The Red Sea welcomed its first guests, our faith was shown to be well-founded. We're privileged to once again have the opportunity to support one of the world's most ambitious developers."

In 2023, The Red Sea welcomed its first guests, and now two of its hotels are open. The Red Sea International Airport (RSI) has been receiving a regular schedule of flights since September 2023. Desert Rock and Shebara will welcome their first guests later this year, while Shura Island is on track to welcome guests in 2025.

Upon full completion in 2030, the destination will comprise 50 resorts, offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms and more than 1,000 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites. The destination will also include luxury marinas, golf courses, entertainment, and leisure facilities.

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BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Iraq and British oil giant BP are set to finalize a deal by early February to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk and curb gas flaring, Iraqi authorities announced Wednesday.

The mega-project in northern Iraq will include plans to recover flared gas to boost the country's electricity production, they said.

Gas flaring refers to the polluting practice of burning off excess gas during oil drilling. It is cheaper than capturing the associated gas.

The Iraqi government and BP signed a new memorandum of understanding in London late Tuesday, as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and other senior ministers visit Britain to seal various trade and investment deals.

"The objective is to enhance production and achieve optimal targeted rates of oil and gas output," Sudani's office said in a statement.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani told AFP after the new accord was signed that the project would increase the four oil fields' production to up to 500,000 barrels per day from about 350,000 bpd.

"The agreement commits both parties to sign a contract in the first week of February," he said.

Ghani noted the project will also target gas flaring.

Iraq has the third highest global rate of gas flaring, after Russia and Iran, having flared about 18 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, according to the World Bank.

The Iraqi government has made eliminating the practice one of its priorities, with plans to curb 80 percent of flared gas by 2026 and to eliminate releases by 2028.

"It's not just a question of investing and increasing oil production... but also gas exploitation. We can no longer tolerate gas flaring, whatever the quantity," Ghani added.

"We need this gas, which Iraq currently imports from neighboring Iran. The government is making serious efforts to put an end to these imports."

Iraq is ultra-dependent on Iranian gas, which covers almost a third of Iraq's energy needs.

However, Teheran regularly cuts off its supply, exacerbating the power shortages that punctuate the daily lives of 45 million Iraqis.

BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.

According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- among the largest in the world -- amounting to 96 years' worth of production at the current rate.