Ex-Im Bank approves $641 mln to finance export of US refinery equipment to Turkey

WASHINGTON/ANKARA

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $640.7 million in direct loans to Star Refineri A.S. (Star) in Turkey, which will finance the export of American-made oil refinery equipment.
 
“This important transaction will support the export of cutting-edge American equipment,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg, according to a press release by the U.S. Embassy in Ankara on Dec. 5. “Moreover, the transaction will help a vital industry in Turkey and support 3,000 U.S. jobs across America. The growth we see in the energy sector around the globe bolsters jobs here at home.”

The American-made equipment will factor in Star’s construction of an oil refinery in Aliağa, western Turkey. Upon completion in 2017, the refinery will produce crude oil in addition to various other petrochemicals, including naphtha, LPG, and xylenes.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that creates and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $35.8 billion in total authorizations in FY 2012 – an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales – also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank’s total authorizations support an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs.