Japanese banks and export credit agencies (ECAs) have signed a US$297.5mn buyer’s credit agreement with Kazakhstan’s Atyrau refinery for the modernisation of the plant.

The loan is co-financed by the Japanese Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) with US$178.5mn, and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (BTMU) with US$119mn, and covered by the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi).

It will fund the purchase by Atyrau, a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company KazMunayGas, of plant equipment through Japan’s Marubeni Corporation. It is part of a modernisation project aiming to reduce the environmental impact of the Kazakh refinery.

In June, the project received another loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim) for US$1.1bn, with a 13.5-year tenor.