INPEX has appointed Mizuho Bank as financial advisor for its USD 20bn Abadi liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Indonesia, according to two sources familiar.

The operator aims to raise up to USD 14bn in project financing from commercial lenders and export credit agencies (ECA), the sources said. It has received several early indications of support from lenders, including SMBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho, after conducting a market sounding, according to one of the sources.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is also expected to lend to the project, both sources said.

ECAs will finance around USD 5bn of the total with commercial banks funding the rest, one source said. International commercial banks are expected to lend USD 6bn while Indonesian banks will finance USD 3bn.

The sponsors now expect to try to extract better pricing from contractors before starting the project financing next year, according to one of the sources. Contractors have been focused on the busy US market to the detriment of Asia, he explained.

Front-end engineering design work for Abadi remains ongoing, one of the sources said.

INPEX hopes that Abadi will produce 9.5 million tonnes of LNG per year with carbon capture and storage.

Indonesian state utility PLN has agreed to buy 2 million metric tonnes a year of Abadi LNG. Pertamina’s gas unit Perusahaan Gas Negara has also signed a preliminary supply agreement with INPEX.

Abadi is 65%-owned by Japan’s INPEX, 20% by Indonesia’s Pertamina, and 15% by Malaysia’s Petronas. Using the offshore Masela gas block, Abadi is expected to supply 35,000 barrels of condensate daily and 150 million cubic feet of natural gas daily for domestic pipelines. Production is slated to begin in the early 2030s.

JBIC, MUFG, INPEX, Mizuho and SMBC either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.