What's New Items 2002-2004 Compiled

December 7, 2004 (The Guardian, UK) - The UK’s sale of 100 Scorpion tanks to the brutal and corrupt Suharto regime in Indonesia points to the ease with which “ethical foreign policy” goals can be abandoned. The tanks, later used against independence fighters, were covered in part by the UK ECA Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD). A December 10, 2004, Guardian article reported a development in the Scorpion tank scandal: investigations have begun into an alleged bribe paid to Suharto’s daughter to secure the tank deal.

B. Trade Secretary Now Facing Review for Weakening Corruption Controls

December 2, 2004 (The Guardian, UK) - The ECGD weakened its new anti-corruption standard on the demand of Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt, and she is now facing a judicial review for her actions, which followed intense lobbying by BAE, Airbus, and Rolls-Royce. On November 30, 2004, the BBC ran an article and a TV news investigative report (read the show’s transcript (PDF)) on the ECGD corruption scandals, including the cases of India’s Dabhol and Nigeria’s Bonny Island projects.

C. Legal Challenge Ahead for UK ECA

November 20, 2004 (Financial Times) – Having backtracked recently on its new anti-corruption rules following an intense lobbying campaign by British-based multinationals, the UK ECA Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) now faces a legal challenge by anti-corruption campaigners. BAE, one of the companies which lobbied for relaxing anti-corruption rules, is under investigation for a Saudi Arabian deal; a UK Halliburton subsidiary is also under investigation for bribes Halliburton acknowledges it “may have” paid to Nigerian officials to secure a construction project [on Bonny Island], a project also backed by the ECGD. Read the ECA Watch “What’s New” October 2004 update on the Bonny Island scandal.

2) Recent News on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline

A. BTC Pipeline to Exceed Costs

November 15, 2004 (Trend, Azerbaijan) – The head of SOCAR [the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic] Natiq Aliyev announced that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline, now in its final stages, will cost more than previously thought. Aliyev stated that “the possible "5 to 7 per cent" appreciation of the project is not the fault of sponsors or contractors, but because "[t]he BTC pipeline has very strong adversaries who are using all possible and impossible tricks in an attempt to hamper its implementation.” The pipeline is backed by private and ECA interests, primarily the UK’s BP and ECAs from Europe and the US.

B. BTC Pipeline Riddled with Corrosion

November 17, 2004 (AFX Europe) – According to a study by the US consulting firm WorleyParsons, 1,260 joints in one section alone of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline have been found to be defective due to corrosion. The US firm investigated the BTC link at the request of lenders after speculation at the beginning of 2004 that BP, the UK ECA ECGD, and other project partners had run into trouble. Derek Mortimore, the former consultant to BP, described decisions made with regard to pipeline coating technology as "appalling."

C. UK Admits Pipeline Failure Due to Experimental Engineering

November 23, 2004 (Baku Ceyhan Campaign [comprising PLATFORM, the Corner House, KHRP & Friends of the Earth]) – Senior UK government officials admitted in a parliamentary inquiry that the vital anti-corrosion coating system for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project had no track record, contrary to assurances given to MPs in June by the UK Energy Minister. The Trade and Industry Select Committee began its probe after revelations in the press that BP, the operator of the project, had ignored internal warnings that their coating would fail to to seal the pipeline’s welds from corrosion. The weld coating cracked last winter. BP secured USD $2.6B in loans from international private and development banks without disclosing this major design flaw. The UK ECA, the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) is backing the pipeline with £60M public money. Read an explanation of the coatings on the pipeline by the Baku Ceyhan Campaign.

D. Exxon Spurns BTC Pipeline for Trains

November 25, 2004 (The Times, UK) – Just as BP’s mammoth BTC pipeline is almost complete, ExxonMobil declared the project to be too expensive: it now plans to export its Caspian oil via rail tankers to a Black Sea port.

E. Italian Bank Pulls $60M Funding from BTC

December 8, 2004 (The Messenger, Georgia) – The Italian bank Banca Intesa has decided to divest its USD $60M from the BTC pipeline, adding to the setbacks already plaguing the pipeline. Read the investigative report “The Con-tract of the Century” on the Intesa divestment and BP’s coverup of the design flaws that caused the bank concern. Also read the December 1, 2004, press release by the Baku-Ceyhan Campaign on the Intesa divestment.

3) Recent News on the Russian Oil and Gas Project Sakhalin II

A. Shell’s Sakhalin II Charm Campaign Overstates Benefits to Russia

November 30, 2004 (Source: the Sakhalin Campaign of CEE Bankwatch Network, FOE, Pacific Environment, PLATFORM, SEW & WWF) – An independent study by a leading energy economist has documented the Sakhalin II Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) to be a major departure from standard PSA terms worldwide. The study reports that “[t]he benefits which flow to the Russian party fall a long way short of those which would have been received had a standard type PSA been used [in which] the Russian party would receive 45% more economic rent.” Shell recently launched a charm offensive to boost the controversial Sakhalin II project, extolling the financial benefits to Russia. Sakhalin II is seeking up to USD $5B in public financing from the Export Credit Agencies of the US, UK, and Japan, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Read the Profit Sharing Analysis “The Sakhalin II PSA - a Production 'Non-Sharing' Agreement” (PDF).

B. Sakhalin’s Indigenous People Plan Protests of Oil and Gas Projects

December 8, 2004 (Sakhalin Independent, Russia) – Sakhalin Environmental Watch has reported that Sakhalin’s indigenous people have threatened to start ongoing blockades of roads, bridges and pipeline routes constructed by Sakhalin Energy, Exxon Neftegas Limited, British Petroleum and Rosneft-Sakhalinmorneftegas. The resolution to start protesting was passed at the Congress of Sakhalin’s Indigenous People, which was held on October 29th.

C. Sakhalin II Pipeline Soils Water in Korsakov, Russia

November 12, 2004 (Vladivostok News, Russia) - Construction of a pipeline for the Sakhalin II project near the town of Korsakov threatens to disrupt water and heat supply to the city, since water reservoirs located near the pipeline route have been contaminated with construction site runoff.

4) Recent News on OPIC

A. OPIC Sues Indian Government Over Dabhol

November 19, 2004 (Financial Express, India) – The US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has initiated arbitration against the government of India for breach of investment incentive agreement and the recovery of its claims of USD $110M on the Dabhol Power Company over a stalled hydopower plant project. OPIC has paid over USD $110 million on political risk insurance policies covering the investors (GE and Bechtel) and Bank of America against the risk expropriation of their investment in the project. Read OPIC’s Request for Arbitration (PDF).

B. OPIC Promises $250M in Support to Israeli Gas Pipeline

November 22, 2004 (GLOBES, Israel) - OPIC has announced approval of USD $250M in political risk insurance for the construction of a 65-mile pipeline that will serve as the centerpiece of Israel’s natural gas system. OPIC’s insurance will cover a proposed loan arranged by Citigroup for the construction of a pipeline that will be used to transport natural gas produced offshore, from Ashdod in southern Israel to Dor in the north, for downstream power projects in the country.

5) Recent News on the Japanese ECA JBIC

A. JBIC Pledges $220M to Indonesian Power Plants

November 26, 2004 (VNA, Vietnam) - The Japanese government, through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), plans to extend an export credit worth 2.75B yen (USD $220M) to help Indonesia improve the capability of its power plants.

B. JBIC Looks Toward Mining

November 13, 2004 (Daily Times, Pakistan) – The Japanese ECA JBIC notes a rising demand for funding for now-affordable international metal mining projects by Japanese metal refiners. “The need for funds in development projects is increasing ... and I expect bigger growth in the future,” said Katsuhiko Okazaki, Director of Natural Resources Finance at JBIC. “In order to meet changes in the environment with demand led by China and India, some smelters are increasingly seeking opportunities to take stakes in mining projects.”

6) Recent News on the Russian ECA and Foreign Trade Bank

A. Russian Vneshtorgbank Makes Agreement with Korean ECA and with Canadian ECA

November 28, 2004 (Pravda) Russia's foreign trade bank Vneshtorgbank (VTB) has entered into an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of Korea. In an earlier, November 10, 2004, article on the deal, Pravda added that it was possible that the Russian gas giant Gazprom was interested in purchasing Korean equipment, and would be among VTB's customers to use the proposed USD $30M line of Korean credit. In a related December 2, 2004, RIA Novosti article, VTB has entered into an agreement with Canada’s ECA Export Decelopment Canada (EDC) and will open a USD $50M credit to Vneshtorgbank to finance contracts on exports of Canadian goods and services to Russia.

B. Russian and Indian ECAs Enter Into Agreement

November 18, 2004 (Economic Times, India) – India’s ECA Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC), Russia’s ECA ExIm (ExIm Bank of Russia), and the Russian bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote trade between the two countries as part of a project in a third country. Another article on the subject on December 3, 2004, (The Hindu) added that in this new economic partnership there has been a substantial and new emphasis on the fields of information technology, banking, and energy. In the energy sector, the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) will collaborate in Russia, India and third countries on underground storage projects (with STROITANSGAZ) and exploration and delivery of natural gas (with GAZPROM). GAIL and Russian company Skonchinsky Mining Institute have also decided to develop a pilot project on lignite (brown coal) gasification in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.

7) Qatar LNG Company Receives $930M in Support from US ExIm Bank

November 18, 2004 (Source: US ExIm Bank via PR Newswire) – The ECA US Export-Import Bank has approved a loan guarantee of up to USD $930M to support US exports to supply Qatar Liquefied Gas Co. Ltd. II (Qatargas II) in its development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Qatar.

8) French ECA COFACE Uncertified for Three Years Running

December 9, 2004 (Source: Friends of the Earth- France [press release in French]) - The highest-ranking financial public institution in France (Cour des Comptes or Court of Accounts), which has jurisdiction over the financial affairs of the French public sector and is charged with auditing government spending, has now refused to certify the public bank account for the French ECA COFACE for three years.

View Back Issues of What's New:

2004 What's New Items

V3N9

1) OPIC and ExIm Bank Sued by Arcata, California

November 10, 2004 (The Lumberjack Online ) – Arcata, California , has joined Oakland, CA, Boulder, CO, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth in a suit against the two major export credit and investment finance agencies of the US . The city seeks damages expected to the community mainly from an increased sea-level due to greenhouse gasses. “They take federal money and make investments and they are not held to the same environmental standards as projects in the United States ,” said Mark Andre, Deputy Director of Environmental Services for the City of Arcata .

2) French ECA COFACE Plans to Back Finnish Nuclear Reactor

October 22, 2004 (Sources: Greenpeace- France and Friends of the Earth- France ) - Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have voiced concern that the French ECA COFACE has decided, according to the COFACE project list for the 2nd Quarter of 2004 , to give 610M Euros to the French nuclear company Areva to export a 1600 MW European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) to Finland for use by operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO). A December, 2003, press release from Greenpeace about the pending sale explains that this kind of reactor “ is claimed to be totally safe and the nuclear industry is hoping to start a new era of nuclear development with this design.” However, it continues, “There's nothing new to the safety appraisal of the EPR.” Read the COFACE abstract about the Areva reactor (PDF) .

Read an October 13, 2004, Reuters article about the plans for the TVO nuclear plant in Finland.

3) Canada’s ECA Funds SUAL Russian Aluminium Project

October 15, 2004 (Azom.com News) – Siberian Urals Aluminium or SUAL, one of the world's top aluminium producers, has closed an agreement with the ECA Export Development Canada (EDC) to provide $20M USD financing for the Komi Aluminium Project. In August IFC and EBRD joined private banks in backing this Russian project, pledging a 9-year $150M USD loan.

4) OPIC May Fund Alumina Refinery in Conflict-Torn Guinea

October 21, 2004 (IRIN, Africa Independent) – OPIC is expected to participate in a $2B USD alumina refinery in Sangaredi, Guinea . The refinery, to be built by a Japanese-held company, is next to the world’s biggest mining complex for bauxite, used to make aluminum. If the refinery goes forward, it will be the largest foreign investment project in West Africa since international oil companies- led by ExxonMobil- invested $3.7B USD to develop Chad ’s oil fields. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have suspended aid and the EU has withheld large amounts of aid to totalitarian Guinea pending governmental democratic reforms and corruption safeguards.

5) UK ECA ECGD Backs Down on Corruption Controls

November 8, 2004 (The Guardian, UK ) – UK Government Ministers have been accused of a "spineless" climbdown on bribery and corruption controls on exporters in response to intense lobbying by the business sector. Campaigners fear that changes to the bribery controls of the UK 's ECA would encourage the "worst practice" by companies operating abroad. After the new rules were announced, Susan Hawley of the Corner House anti-corruption campaign said, "This is a spineless and disgraceful government response to industry pressure and shows who's really the boss at the ECGD." This news came days after an article from The Guardian (October 30, 2004) following up on the Nigerian Bonny Island / Halliburton corruption scandal , wherein bribes were paid through a UK office under ECGD’s watch. Also, read the ECA Watch “What’s New” October 2004 update on this scandal.

For more on the ECGD corruption control climbdown, read the UK Guardian’s Nov. 17, 2004, article on the corporate protests of existing ECGD corruption controls by Rolls-Royce, the Airbus Consortium and BAE Systems.

6) Philippines See Influx of ECA Interest in Power Sector

October 17, 2004 (Manila Bulletin) – Philippine power executives and the Philippine National Power Corporation privatization team are said to be planning a successful resolution of the current dilemma of the Philippine power sector. The resolution is aided by the influx of support by finance institutions such as the US ExIm Bank, IFC, Asian Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), as well as others.

7) Finnish ECA Money Tied to Costa Rican Scandal

October 22, 2004 (Tico Times via Americas.org Website) – On October 21 st former Costa Rican President Calderón Jr. (1990-94) became the second former Costa Rican head of state arrested in a week. Calderón is alleged to be behind the illegal disbursement of a $9.2M USD “commission” tied to a $39.5M USD government contract for the purchase of medical equipment. The contract included a $32M USD loan from Finland (loaned via the Finnish ECA ODA: for more on this connection, read the NGO Finnwatch November 11 press release ).

8) Congress of World Wind Energy Calls for Export Credit Reform

November 4, 2004 (Source: WWEA Website) – The final resolution issued by the World Wind Energy Conference, held in Beijing, October 31 – November 4, 2004, calls for global ECA reform. Among its recommendations it includes “ the amendment of laws which disadvantage wind power generation projects particularly in the developing world such as the OECD provisions in relation to export credits... [and] the World Trade Organisation laws so that individual nations may make provision to prioritise Renewable Energy development…”

9) Belgian ECA Launches Improved Website

October 10, 2004 (Source: Proyecto Gato ) The Belgian ECA Ducroire/ Delcredere has launched an update to its website (http://www.delcredere.be) that is more compliant with the OECD’s Environmental Common Approaches for Export Credits . Ducroire’s policies on environment, corruption, indebtedness, and social issues can now be read on the site’s Ethics page .

10) FERN Assesses EU’s New ECA Transparency Directive

November 5, 2004 (Source: FERN) - FERN, a sustainable forestry NGO, has published a briefing paper “Blood from a Stone” on a new EU Directive on Public Access to Information, citing its potential advantages and limitations. It notes that while ECAs fall under the scope of the directive, “ a number of exceptions and loopholes in the text leave Member States with significant room for manoeuvre in the transposition process and could eventually allow ECAs to withhold certain types of information or delay the disclosure of material.” Click here to download the FERN briefing (PDF).

11) Pipeline Opponents Threaten Legal Action Against UK’s ECA

November 17, 2004 (The Independent, UK) – Opponents to the controversial Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline being built by BP through central Asia warned the UK that it would face legal action if the pipeline caused an environmental disaster. For more information on structural and transparency breakdowns on the BTC pipeline, read the November 17, 2004, article by The Guardian, UK, “Cracked Joints,” as well as the October, 2004, What’s New item about BP’s profit margin and the Baku-Ceyhan project .

V3N8

1) Did Halliburton Bribe Nigerian Dictator on ECA-backed LNG Terminal?

October 3, 2004 - (The Independent - UK) A French corruption investigation has uncovered that a low-end UK lawyer worked with three British executives from the US construction group Halliburton to pay at least $132M USD in "unjustified" fees to contacts in Nigeria. These transactions, many of which took place when Halliburton’s CEO was Dick Cheney, the current US Vice President, helped a consortium including Halliburton to win a $12B USD contract to build a gas terminal at Nigeria ’s Bonny Island . T he discovery of Halliburton’s central role in the deal may force the Export Credit Guarantee Department – the UK ECA - to withdraw its support from a £133m loan made last year to MW Kellogg, a UK Halliburton subsidiary. The infamous Bonny Island terminal has been financed by the ECA of the US - the Ex-Im Bank- and several European ECAs.

Read our September 2004 update on corruption and the Bonny Island gas terminal.

Read our July 2004 update the environmental effects of the Bonny Island gas terminal.

2) Canadian ECA Chief Environmental Advisor's Report Shows Small Step Toward Accountability

September 16, 2004 – (Source: Halifax Initiative ) A Canadian coalition of development, environment, faith-based, human rights, and labour groups welcomed the release of Export Development Canada’s Second Annual Chief Environmental Adviser’s Report, but warned that this is only a small step towards ensuring greater public accountability for the Crown Corporation.

Read the full EDC Report (in PDF form).

3) Algerian Energy Sector to Receive Boost from Canada’s ECA

September 26, 2004 (Source: Public Affairs Office of the EDC) – The Canadian ECA, Export Development Canada (EDC) and Algeria’s state-owned energy company, Sonatrach, have signed a 500M USD credit facility for the procurement of Canadian goods, primarily products and services from Canada’s energy and engineering, to Sonatrach and its subsidiaries.

4) ECA-Backed Indonesian Pulp Mill Used Illegal Wood Sources

September 14, 2004 – (Source: Forest Rescue Alliance Riau, Indonesia) The Indonesian NGO network Forest Rescue Alliance Riau has found out from research conducted in July, 2004, that illegally-cut trees in the Tesso Nilo National Park in Riau, Sumatra, went to the PT Indah Kiat Pulp mill owned by Asian Pulp and Paper. PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper was designed, equipped and funded by Finnish companies and Export Credit Agencies, as well as other ECAs: the Swedish EKN, Spanish CESCE, Danish EKF and the Canadian EDC.

5) US Ex-Im Bank Backs New Oil and Gas Field Development in Mexico

September 30, 2004 – (Source: US Ex-Im Bank) 167 US companies, mostly from Texas, are set to participate in a $400M USD US ECA Ex-Im Bank-backed sale of equipment and services to Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) for the New Pidiregas Projects (NPP). NPP is made up of 23 LNG and oil facilities located offshore in the Bay of Campeche off the northern coast of the Yucatan , and onshore in northern Varacruz and northwestern Tabasco . The development’s goal is to increase Mexico 's production capacity to 4M barrels of oil and 7B cubic feet of gas per day by 2006.

6) US Ex-Im Bank Backs New Oil and Gas Field Development in Peru

September 13, 2004 – (Source: US Ex-Im Bank) The US ECA Ex-Im Bank has approved a $15.9M USD credit guarantee facility to support the sale of equipment and services to Petro-Tech Peruana S.A. of Lima, Peru for oil and gas exploration and development off Peru's northern coast. Texas-based Petro-Tech will procure the goods and services from a variety of US companies to support ongoing operations as well as expansion and exploratory activities in Peru ’s coastal oil and gas fields.

7) Iraq Wants 90 – 95% Debt Forgiveness

October 4, 2004 – (ABC News: Reuters) "What we are saying is we want a cut off of 95, 90 to 95 percent. That's why there is negotiations," Iraq's Finance Minister told reporters after clinching a $500 million credit from the US Export-Import Bank. Iraq has found a starting point for debt relief in a proposal by France to relieve 50 percent of its debt. The US is also pressing for 90 - 95 percent debt forgiveness for Iraq 's $120B USD debt. The US has faced opposition from France , which points out that Iraq should not expect the same treatment as impoverished African nations, given that Iraq has the world's second largest oil reserves.

8) Dabhol Standoff Continues

September 21, 2004- (The Financial Express, India) The Dabhol Power Company, once sponsored by Enron and then GE, now languishes in a negotiation standoff between Indian companies and offshore lenders as they try to buy its $320M USD offshore debt (“dedollarizing” it) at a low rate. Investment in the ill-fated power company includes $479M USD outstanding credit given by export credit agencies, including JBIC of Japan, Ex-Im Bank of the US and OND of Belgium.

Read our September 2004 update on the Dabhol Power Company.

9) Nigerian Petroleum, Mobil Seal Deal On $1.27B USD Gas Project

September 20, 2004 – (This Day, Nigeria ) The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Mobil Producing Nigeria signed an agreement for the financing of an LNG expansion project, expected to cost $1.275B USD. NNPC and Mobil Producing will raise the sum of $650M. All the loans to finance the project will be guaranteed by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), an investment insurance agency of the United States government. The project entails the expansion of the NNPC/Mobil LNG plant located in Bonny, Rivers State.

10) BP’s Millions at the Expense of the UK Taxpayer, Environment

October 6, 2004 – (Source: Friends of the Earth) Responding to analysts' forecasts that oil giant British Petroleum (BP) will record £9B profits this year, Friends of the Earth accused the oil giant of profiting at the expense of people, climate change and the UK taxpayer. BP receives large subsidies from the UK government every year to support its oil export development projects, including the controversial Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline. This pipeline project is spearheaded by BP, but 70% of the project's costs have been borrowed through both private banks and public development banks, including the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD), and the US Export-Import Bank. The project has been criticized by environmental and human rights groups for breaching international human rights law and damaging the environment.

Read our July 2004 update on the Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline here.

V3N7

1) Shell's Oil Spill on Sakhalin Island

September 9, 2004 – (The Observer ) On September 8, a Shell Oil-contracted dredging vessel spilled as much as 200 metric tons of heavy fuel oil and diesel at Russia 's Sakhalin Island. Local and international conservation groups are responding with outrage, noting that Shell and the Western banks that may finance the project have been warned for years about the high risk of spills and gross inadequacy of the project’s oil spill response plans. The Sakhalin II project seeks up to $5 billion in public financing from the Export Credit Agencies of the US, UK, and Japan, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

2) Firms May be Barred from Future Business in Nigeria

September 2, 2004 – (The Guardian) Several firms including Halliburton Energy Services Company, Technic Snamprogetti, and the Japanese Gas Corporation face possible exclusion from future business in Nigeria until the government concludes its investigation of alleged corruption involving the Bonny Island Liquid Natural Gas plant. The Bonny Island project has support from the US Export-Import Bank and several European Export Credit Agencies. Investigations are also underway by the French, UK and US governments. Read a recent report of environmental and social problems at Bonny Island.

3) US Dept. of Energy, OPIC Form Partnership for Environmentally Sound Economic Development

September 8, 2004 – ( US Newswire ) The US Energy Secretary and the President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) signed a partnership agreement to promote investment in clean energy in the world’s emerging markets. Under this agreement, both agencies will work to create an Efficient Energy and Renewables Program emphasizing innovative financing and creative partnerships for environmentally-sound economic growth.

4) OPIC to Search for Dabhol Power Plant Sponsor

August 19, 2004 - (The Times of India) The Indian government has decided to appoint OPIC to find a new sponsor for the Dabhol Power Company. The government says it is also taking steps to resolve friction between Indian lenders and the project's US promoters — GE and Bechtel — over who has the first right to the proceeds from the sale of the plant.

Read a 1999 GE press release about the Dabhol plant, “ Enron's flagship project in India.”

5) Bush Government Sued Over Climate Change

August 25, 2004 – (The Dominion, Canada) The Inuit people from Canada and Alaska have announced intentions to sue the US government at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to force the US to address the issue of climate change. The government of the island nation of Tuvalu is also planning a case against the US and/or Australia at the International Court of Justice in The Hague . The cities of Oakland, California, and Boulder, Colorado, in coalition with the Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, have already sued two US agencies - the Export-Import Bank and OPIC - for funding fossil fuel projects.

5) WEED Authors Guide to Investment Guarantees

August 30, 2004 – (Source: WEED) The German nongovernmental organization World Economy, Ecology & Development (WEED) has produced a 22-page booklet on investment guarantees. Unlike export credit, investment guarantees merely offer protection against political risks. This book explains investment guarantees, from what is insured to the possible consequences of such guarantees.

V3N6

1) US ECA Ex-Im Bank Under Pressure to Reconsider Peru’s Destructive Camisea Gas Project

July 20, 2004 – (Source: Friends of the Earth) As the Inter-American Development Bank plans to bring the controversial Camisea Gas Project in Peru to financial closure, the US Government is set to support the project despite previous objections to financing it via US taxpayer dollars due to negative environmental and social impacts.

Click here for more on the Camisea controversy from OneWorld US (July 29).

2) Seeking ECA Support, Shell’s Sakhalin II Project Threatens Whale with Extinction

August 3, 2004 - (LA Times) ECAs from Japan, the UK, and the US that are considering financing the Russian Sakhalin II oil and gas project now face an International Whaling Commission (IWC) declaration that the project threatens the Western Gray Whale with extinction. At its annual meeting in June, 2004, the IWC said that the Western Gray Whale is in “serious danger of extinction,” and that its protection is “a matter of absolute urgency,” particularly with the onset of oil and gas projects including Sakhalin II. According to Sakhalin Environment Watch, “if only a few whales die, the point of no return will be passed.” Another article quotes the World Wildlife Fund on the IWC declaration, “This is a wake-up call for Shell to pay proper attention to the environment when planning major oil projects."

3) Dutch Government Demands Iraq’s ECA Debt for Mustard Gas Be Paid with Aid Money

July 23, 2004 - (Expatica News, Amsterdam) The Dutch government is demanding that the Overseas Development Ministry bear the costs of materials for mustard gas that the Dutch company Melchemie sold illegally to Iraq in 1985, but for which it never received payment. The Dutch government plans to forgive part of Iraq 's debt, which will be calculated as "aid" on the budget of the Overseas Development Ministry. Environmental group Both Ends said it was "sour" that forgiving Iraq 's debt would come at the cost of overseas aid.

4) US ECA Ex-Im Bank and Danish ECA Finance Gas Turbine Generator Sale to Turkey

July 16, 2004 – (Source: Export-Import Bank of the United States) In the first instance of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) co-financing with Denmark's Export Credit Agency (EKF), Ex-Im Bank has approved a $60M USD loan guarantee to support the export by US suppliers of three gas turbines to build a 154-megawatt combined cycle power plant in Kayseri, Turkey.

5) Up to $135M Political Risk Insurance Granted by OPIC for Major Bolivian Silver Project

August 2, 2004 – (PRNewswire) Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation of Idaho, the world's largest primary silver producer and a growing gold producer, announced that the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved up to $135M USD in political risk insurance for Coeur's San Bartolome silver project in Bolivia.

6) OPIC to Finance Botswana’s First Coal Bed Methane Wells

August 13, 2004 – ( Business Day, Botswana) The US Overseas Private Investment Corporation announced that it will provide an $8.5M USD investment guarantee to the Kalahari Gas Corporation to finance the purchase of equipment and drilling of coal bed methane wells. Said US ambassador to Botswana Joseph Huggins, " Botswana has no infrastructure for the extraction or end use of coal bed methane, so this project truly represents a groundbreaking initiative with regional, and local potential for growth."

7) Venezuela Asks for International Arbitrator in OPIC Ruling

July 21, 2004 – (US Newswire) Senior officials of the Venezuelan oil and gas concern PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela, SA) have said that the company's commercial dispute with the San Diego firm Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) should be put before an independent international arbitrator, rather than be subject to US political pressures. In mid-July the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation decided in favor of SAIC in this matter, asserting PDVSA and the Government of Venezuela had expropriated SAIC's Venezuelan investments.

8) OPIC Considering Funding More LNG in Nigeria

August 2, 2004 – (This Day, Lagos) The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is inviting Nigerian banks and foreign credit agencies, including the US Overseas Project Investment Credit Agency (OPIC), to participate in the funding of a $1.2B USD Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) project to be located offshore Rivers State. The project, the second tier of the Oso LNG project, is a joint venture between the NNPC (49% share) and Mobil (51% share).

9) Eco-Feminist Arundhati Roy Protests India’s Destructive ECA-backed Dams

July 19, 2004 – (ZNet Online News) In this opinion piece written for Outlook India, Roy draws attention to Harsud, a 700-year-old Indian town slated to be submerged by the reservoir of the Narmada Sagar Dam, the most destructive dam on that river. She points out that over the next 13 years the NHPC, the national hydropower company managing the Narmada Sagar Dam Project by a joint-venture agreement with the regional government, plans other dam projects to produce 32,000 MW of power, or the equivalent of 32 more Narmada Sagars. Finances for these projects have come from numerous export credit agencies, including COFACE ( France ) and NEXI & JBIC ( Japan ).

10) Czech Consortium Prepared to Build ECA-backed Bulgarian Nuclear Plant

August 3, 2004 – (UPI Energy) Bulgaria 's Council of Ministers is set to announce bids for the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant. Following an April meeting of the Skoda consortium (consisting of two Czech companies), the Energy Ministry, and the national electricity company (NEC), Skoda announced they were willing to complete building the Belene nuclear power plant. Citigroup, Unicredito and the Czech Exports Bank supported the Skoda proposal.

11) New African Multilateral ECA Seeks Business

July 27, 2004 – ( The Nation , Nairobi ) The Nairobi-based African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) is Africa 's first and only ECA, and is now aggressively promoting its export insurance. First financed by the World Bank, ATI aims to reduce the risk-perception of the region's business environment. There are now 11 member states of ATI: the seven founding states ( Kenya , Rwanda , Burundi , Malawi , Tanzania , Uganda and Zambia ) plus Eritrea , Madagascar , Djibouti , and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

12) UK ECA Threatens Engineering Group with Blacklisting for Saddam Kickbacks

August 1, 2004 – ( The Observer , UK) The UK engineering group Weir could be blacklisted by that government's export credit agency after becoming embroiled in controversy over £4.2 million in possible kickbacks paid to the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein. A ban by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) would hinder attempts by the company to secure lucrative contracts in potentially unstable parts of the world. A spokesperson for the ECGD said it would not be investigating the case until Weir next applied for coverage, but that any company found to have paid bribes would face an automatic ban. 'According to our rules, past involvement in corruption is a prima facie reason to refuse cover,' the spokesperson said.

13) UK ECA Seeks Oil Investments in Iran

July 23, 2004 – (Persian Journal) The British government's Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) is continuing to focus on Iran 's oil, gas and petrochemical business, which it hopes will lead to the future investment of UK companies in the South Pars gas field. In its latest annual report, ECGD listed credit guarantees being approved for nine Iranian petrochemical projects worth $136M USD in the year ending March 2004.

14) Canada’s ECA Plans to Continue to Work with Company Convicted in Lesotho Corruption Case

July 30, 2004 – (Inter Press Service, South Africa ) It is business as usual between Canadian government agencies, including the Canadian ECA Export Development Corporation (EDC), and a local company barred from World Bank contracts after being convicted of bribery in Africa . Engineering firm Acres International was found guilty in Lesotho in 2002 for trying to bribe the official responsible for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), but Canadian agencies will continue to consider it as contractor. Testifying before a committee of the US Congress in mid-July, the lead prosecutor in the Lesotho case said, "There is a lingering impression in Lesotho, as well as in South Africa, that the interest of First World countries in the present prosecutions lies not so much in the successful outcome of these prosecutions but rather in protecting the interests of its companies that are involved.”

15) Australian ECA Weighs in on Papua New Guinea’s Prospects for Development

July 30, 2004 – (The National, Papua New Guinea ) The Australian ECA, the Export Finance Insurance Corporation, praised the industrial relations of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to foreign investment, saying that wages in PNG could hardly give investors or employers any cause for complaint. EFIC noted that land use is the most intransigent issue, and that generations might have to pass before a more “positive” approach towards land use became the norm.

16) Chinese Ex-Im Bank to Provide $116M to Uzbek Oil and Gas Sector

August 3, 2004 - (Interfax) Uzbekistan plans to raise $955M USD in Chinese credits in 2004-2007 for investment projects, t he bulk of which (over $116M USD) will go to the oil and gas sector, including $47.3M USD for investment in new developments in Arniyaz, Markovskoye, Sardob and Umid, as well as on the Ustyurt Plateau.

17) Vietnamese Oil Refinery to be Financed via Japanese ECA

August 3, 2004 - (VNA, Viet Nam ) The Japanese firm, Mitsubishi, plans to arrange a $950M USD loan for the $3B USD Nghi Son oil refinery and petro-chemical project, making it the key partner in the project. Petro Vietnam , the Vietnamese Oil and Gas Corporation, announced at the end of July that it is discussing with Mitsubishi the amount of capital the Japanese firm will provide, to be channeled through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The Vietnamese ECA the Export-Import Commercial Bank (Eximbank) will be among the four domestic financial backers.

18) German ECA Hermes to Protect Investment in Libya

August 13, 2004 – ( Faz.net , Germany ) The German government, to minimize risks and promote German business in Libya , wants to enact the Hermes credit guarantee on German exports to the oil-rich North African country as soon as possible.

19) Ho Chi Minh City Gets Help from Japanese ECA for Waste Recycling Plan

August 7, 2004 - (VNA, Viet Nam) The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), after research on the reuse of industrial and domestic waste for pollution control in Viet Nam, suggested using waste materials for power generation, such as producing cement and fertilizers, or food for breeding earthworms. According to JBIC experts, Ho Chi Minh City can build three power plants for waste reuse, and can recover all the costs, $42M USD, in 18 years.

V3N5

1) Whistleblowers Reveal BTC Pipeline Construction Failures

June 26, 2004 – According to “The Independent,” The safety of a controversial oil pipeline being built by one of Britain 's largest companies has been jeopardized by cost-cutting, incompetence and shoddy workmanship by contractors, whistleblowers have reported. The project ran into opposition from civil rights and environmental groups when pipeline backers sought funding from public bodies such as the World Bank and the UK 's Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD).

Meanwhile, June 15, 2004, the UK parliament's Select Committee on Trade and Industry published a report on the "Work of the ECGD" . UK-based groups including Corner House, the Baku Ceyhan Campaign, WWF, Campaign Against Arms Trade, BASIC and FOE gave evidence. Click here for PDF version.

2) Banks Advised Not to Sell Environmentally Damaging China Bonds

July 19, 2004 - Two financial institutions in China are trying to raise $2 billion through international bond issues. The institutions have a track record of financing destructive dam projects such as the Three Gorges Dam in China and around the world. International Rivers Network and Friends of the Earth have called on private banks not to participate in these bond issues. Read the press release and a background document with project case studies (PDF).

3) NGO Discussion Paper and Final Report on Human Rights Impacts of Trade and Project Finance

May 3-4, 2004 – The Halifax Initiative's NGO Working Group on the EDC has released a discussion paper and final report on the ways human rights can be mainstreamed into trade and project finance (with a particular focus on ECAs, the IFC and MIGA. The final report provides an overview of discussions and conclusions at a May 2004 multistakeholder meeting of experts including development, environment, gender, human rights, labour groups, academics, assessment practitioners, and government, including the EDC.

4) Finnish ECAs Violate Environmental Policy

June 28, 2004 – The Finnish ECA Reform Campaign, based in Helsinki, reports that its country's ECAs violates government environmental policy, citing the development policy program adopted by the Finnish government in February 2004.

5) Belgian Government Advances Forest Protections into ECA Policy

June 16, 2004 - According to the Belgian NGO, Projecto Gato, a new Belgian federal government announced that it will not award export credits, risk insurance and investment insurance to projects in endangered forests. The policy now covers the Belgian ECA Ducroire . Source: Jan Cappelle, Proyecto Gato.

6) Ex-Im Bank's Updated Environmental Policy

July 2, 2004 - The BNA reports that the US Export-Import Bank's board of directors approved new environmental guidelines July 1 for the evaluation of large infrastructure projects, after several changes were made to proposed draft guidelines that had been criticized by environmental groups for lowering the bank's standards.

7) Endless Days, Ongoing Disaster at Shell's Bonny Island Plant

July 13, 2004 – The NRC-Handelsblad (Dutch Newspaper) reports that the Bonny Island chemical complex of NLNG (Nigeria Liquid Natural Gas), built at the initiative of Shell and co-financed by the Dutch export credit agency Gerling NCM, could have been a model project. Instead it has created a nightmare of pollution for the island.

8) Large Dam in India's North East May Get ECA Financing

June 19, 2004 - The Financial Express reports that India's National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) is planning to raise $200-240 million USD from the international markets through export credit agencies (ECAs) for part funding for developing the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri hydropower project in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. NHPC will discuss the project with ECAs in the US , in Austria , France , Germany and Japan . The Lower Subansiri region is a hotspot of biodiversity. The indigenous affected communities are opposing the project.

9) InterOil Enters Stock Market as its OPIC-backed Papua New Guinea Refinery Draws “First Oil”

July 14, 2004 – Papua New Guinea 's “The National” reports that an OPIC-backed refinery's Canadian parent company InterOil has entered the stock market, an event which “coincides with [the] ‘first oil' into the company's Napa Napa refinery," according to InterOil's chief executive. InterOil has also just received the final installment of the 85 million USD financing for the construction of its Napa Napa refinery provided by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

10) Lukoil Puts in Operation OPIC-backed Oil Export Terminal in Vysotsk

June 16, 2004 – GatewayToRussia.com reports that the oil giant Lukoil has put into operation its LUKOIL-II export terminal in Vysotsk. US OPIC provided the coverage for a 130 million USD loan to finance the project, which began in 2002.

11) Russian ECA Puts $1 Billion USD into Asian Nukes

July 16, 2004 - The Russian Cabinet of Ministers has approved several export credits, with a total amount of nearly $1 billion USD, for construction of new nuclear reactors abroad, according to Ecodefense. The largest credit will be issued for China : $401 million USD in 2004 and $68 million USD in 2005.

12) Venezuelan State Oil Producer Says OPIC Expropriation Ruling on CIA/Pentagon-Linked Firm was politically Motivated

July 15, 2004 – According to VenezuelanAnalysis.com, the Venezuelan government is not reacting well to news that OPIC has ruled that the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA "expropriated" assets belonging to Science Applications International Corporation, a firm based in San Diego, California, which is reportedly linked to the CIA and Pentagon. Ali Rodrigues, President of Venezuala's state oil firm PDVSA, said, "We have every reason to believe that OPIC's decision was based on prevailing politics in Washington, and the desire to satisfy a politically powerful U.S. company, rather than on the facts.” The US Government is a strong critic of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

V3N4

1) UK Channel Four News Investigates British ECA Practices

June 8, 2004 – The Channel Four News in the UK reports that the ECGD has helped Britain to become the world's second biggest arms' exporter. Although the arms industry makes up just 2% of total British exports, this industry receives as much as 50% of the financing provided by ECGD, effectively an annual subsidy of £250 million. A spokesperson for the ECGD went on record: "Elements of our support have operated as a subsidy in the past but ECGD ... is working internationally to eliminate unfair subsidies." Click here for more on this story from the London Green Party.

2) German Government Sued Over Climate Change Created by Its ECA

June 15 – Friends of the Earth reports that a legal challenge was launched today by Germanwatch and Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) to force the German government to disclose information on how projects supported its ECA Euler Hermes AG ("Hermes") effect climate change. The basis for the suit is the government’s noncompliance with freedom of information legislation. According to Peter Roderick, Director of the Climate Justice Programme, "Climate change litigation has now arrived in Europe . Legal action of this kind will intensify until the developed world and its corporations face up to their global responsibilities and deliver huge cuts in greenhouse gas emissions."

3) Finnish ECA Agrees to Environmental Transparency

June 14 - Finnish ECA Finnvera has finally agreed to increase the transparency of its environmental policy, according to the Finnish ECA Reform Campaign. Environmental information about projects in the big category (A) is now to be made public 30 days prior to the final commitment of the export guarantee.

4) New AIDWATCH Report on Australian ECA

May 24, 2004 - A New AIDWATCH report exposes the devastating climate impact of the Australian Export Credit Agency EFIC (Export Finance and Insurance Corporation). EFIC has backed fossil fuels over renewable fuels at a rate of more than 100: 1 over the past 11 years.

5) Update on “Uncle Sam's Iraq Quagmire Fund”

May 24, 2004 – According to AlterNet.org, the war in Iraq is costing each US household approximately $4,000 per year. Also, the US government has provided over $7 billion in taxpayer-financed institutional support for the Halliburton Company’s scandal-ridden tenure as a contractor in Iraq , through financing by the World Bank and the US Export-Import Bank.

6) US Ex-Im Bank Chairman Diverts Letter About Alleged $180m Bribe Involving Halliburton Subsidiary

May 25, 2004 – The Nigerian online news source Vanguard reports that staff at the US Ex-Im Bank weren’t able to find a letter of inquiry sent to the chairman of United States Exim Bank, Philip Merrill, by an international coalition of groups supporting the investigation of an alleged $180m bribe offered for Nigeria LNG train contracts. Staff requested another copy of the letter from the coalition. The African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) is pursuing a corruption charge against TSKJ (the joint venture team of Technip-Coflexip, Snamprogetti, Halliburton KBR and JGC Corporation) in a Paris court.

7) Canada’s ECA Creates Ecology Pact with Confederation of Indian Industry

May 26, 2004 – The Economic Times of India reported that on May 25 the ECA Export Development Canada finalized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Environment Management Division of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII-EMD). The MoU is intended to foster better relations between Canadian and Indian companies involved in environmental management projects.

8) Russian Government May Force BP to Stop Work at Samotlor- Its Largest Siberian Field

May 28, 2004 – The online news source Bloomberg.com reports that the Samotlor oil fields may have to be closed because of a government regulatory authority’s demand that TNK-BP (a collaboration of BP and Tyumen Oil) is being developed without a technical plan, in violation of Russian law. Tyumen Oil previously received a $600m loan from the US Export Import Bank to increase production at the site.

9) Australia Seeks $500m Owed for Wheat Shipped to Iraq before 1990

May 31, 2004 – ABC Rural, an Australian online news source, reports that the Australian trade minister is attempting to recoup debt owed by Iraq to Australian wheat growers. The government’s export credit agency EFIC paid out $381 million of the debt as insurance in 1992, but a substantial debt remains.

10) APP Reaches Environmental Agreement with ECAs

June 4, 2004 – The Jakarta Post reports that Singapore ’s Asia Pulp & Paper Co. and its major creditors have reached an agreement on environmental protection for the firm's Indonesian affiliates. The “environmental covenant”-- part of APP’s Master Restructuring Agreements-- was made after environmental studies were undertaken by APP’s creditors, including the ECAs of eight European countries and Japan .

11) Facing Gas Shortfall, US Officials Meet with Russian Oil and Gas Producers

June 11, 2004 – The International Herald Tribune reports that US officials have conducted a series of meetings this past week seeking long-term agreements with Russia to import oil and natural gas. The meetings included some of Russia 's biggest gas producers, including Gazprom , Russia 's natural gas monopoly; Yukos, the giant oil company; and Transneft , Russia 's oil pipeline monopoly. In pursuit of liquefied natural gas, officials propose that the US Export-Import Bank finance a $15 billion project developing the giant Shtokman gas field. Click here to read the June 8, 2004, coverage of these meetings by the Moscow Times.

V3N3

1) UK Parliament Rips British ECA on Baku-T'blisi-Ceyhan Pipeline

May 20, 2004 A U.K. Parliamentary hearing ripped the U.K. ECA, the Export Credit Guarantee Department's (ECGD's) handling of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, for which the Department approved $120 million of funding. In the hearing, the Committee Chair rebuked ECGD for its failure to perform adequate due diligence and its over-reliance on the project sponsor, British Petroleum, for due diligence information. A key set of questions raised by the committee related to ECGD's response to allegation in the Sunday Times that BP had withheld key safety information on the coating used to seal segments of the pipeline. The issue of the detention and alleged torture of Ferhat Kaya was also raised, with the ECGD saying it could not comment. See a transcript of oral evidence.

2) Export Credit Group Rebuffs call for Discussion on Bribery

May 6, 2004 - The OECD Export Credit Group (ECG) has rebuffed an April 15, 2004 NGO letter encouraging the ECG to initiate discussion between ECAs on particular bribery case studies, including the Bonny Island LNG Plant, to see what can be learned from such examples. NGO have told Britain 's Export Credit Guarantee Department, the U.S. Import Bank, and the Export Credit Group that this is a test case for the December 2000 anti-corruption pact at the OECD in which ECAs agreed to take action against bribery and not to support projects where there is evidence of bribery. This follows an allegation that up to $180 million was paid to Nigerian Government officials for construction of trains 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The NGO letter also encourages the ECG to keep a database of allegations of bribery on projects supported by ECAs.

Click Here for NGO letter to the Export Credit Group

Click here for NGO letter to ECAs

Click here for related Forbes article

3) Victory Against Proposed KEPCO Coal-Fired Power Plant in Iloilo, Philippines

March 2, 2004 – Before a proposed KEPCO (Korean power company) coal-fired power plant, to be located on the Visayas Island in the Philippines ) could seek funding from ECAs, local civil society organizations convinded a local legislature to reject it. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP), the local government legislative body adopted a Committee Report that rejected the project 7-5, with one abstention. Responsible Ilonggos for Sustainable Energy (RISE), and the Banatenhons Against Coal Plant (BACP) organized a mobilization in front of the Iloilo Provincial Capitol calling for rejection of the KEPCO plant based on environment, human health and livelihood concerns. Meanwhile, alternative clean energy options exist on the island of Panay , including wind, hydro, and biomass.

4) Brazilian NGOs write Letter to BNDES Urging Bank to Act in More Sustainable Manner

March 2004 - The Brazilian NGO Forum and the Rios Vivos Coalition, along with other civil society organizations, sent a letter to Brazil 's National Social and Economic Development Bank (BNDES) expressing disagreement with the Bank's policies and programs, and encouraging the Bank to be more transparent and to support social, economic, and environmental sustainable development in its actions. A large proportion of BNDES' financing goes to mega infrastructure projects, including hydroelectric dams in Brazil , Three Gorges Dam in China , and Son La dam in Vietnam . BNDES is also one of the principal promoters of the South American Regional Infrastructure Integration Initiative (IIRSA), and large-scale infrastructure projects to “integrate” the continent, without adequately assessing the economic, social, and environmental impacts.

5) Belgian NGO Files Complaint against Tractebel in Belgian ECA-backed Dam Project

April 15, 2004 - The Belgian NGO, Proyecto Gato, has filed a complaint alleging violations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises with respect to the Houay Ho dam reservoir in Laos . The complaint alleges that the Belgian company, Tractabel, breached the Guidelines in a number of ways including the failure to complete the project Environmental Impact Assessment until two years after the project was started, failure to adequately assess project impacts on endangered species; failure to deal with impacts of logging on indigenous people, and failure to avert negative health, social and economic impacts associated with the forced eviction of 3000 people. The Belgian ECA, Delcredere, provided political risk insurance for the project.

6) Global Witness Transparency Report on Oil, Mining, and Gas Revenues

March 25, 2004 – All Africa caries a recent Global Witness document that considers five major examples where revenue from oil, gas, and mining that should be funding sustainable economic development, have been misappropriated and mismanaged. In countries such as Kazakhstan , Congo Brazzaville, Angola, Equatorial Guinea , and Nauru , the governments do not provide basic information about their revenues from natural resources, nor do oil, mining and gas companies publish any information about payments made to governments. Investigations reveal that companies have played a willing role in facilitating off the books payments, misappropriation of State assets, and other nefarious activities as part of an anti-competitive, under-the-table method of winning business with unaccountable regimes. The report suggests that export credit agencies, which insure many major extractive investments, should require disclosure of revenues and payments.

7) Denmark ECA adopts “Equator Principles”

May 13, 2004 – Denmark 's ECA, Eksport Kredit Fonden, announced that it is the first ECA worldwide and the first financial institution in Denmark to adopt the “Equator Principles” which are a voluntary set of international guidelines developed by the banks for managing environmental and social issues related to project finance. The “Equator Principles” are based on the policies and procedures as set by the World Bank institution International Finance Corporation (IFC).

8) JBIC May Support 1,500-Mile Siberian Pipeline

April 5, 2004 – The Washington Post reports that last May it appeared as though China and Russia would cooperate in a $150 billion deal to jointly erect a 1,500-mile-long pipeline to carry crude oil from Siberia to China . Instead, Japan has offered Russia a more appealing offer, in part through the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). JBIC has tentatively extended as much as $6 billion to finance the pipeline construction, and billions of dollars more via private companies for oil exploration in eastern Siberia . Japan claims to have no intent to monopolize the oil reaching the Nakhoda port.

9) JBIC to Support Greenhouse-gas Reducing Projects in Mexico

April 15, 2004 - The Asahi Shimbun reports that the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is expected to reach an agreement with Mexico under which JBIC will extend loans to companies undertaking Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects such as plant upgrades and collection of greenhouse gases in Mexico . In return, Japan will receive emissions rights, helping it to achieve its Kyoto Protocol greenhouse-gas emissions goals. Observers say Japan will be unable to achieve its annual emissions targets through domestic reductions alone.

10) JBIC and NEXI to Support Second Fertilizer Plant Project in Iran

April 16, 2004 - Japan Corporate News Network reports that Toyo Engineering Corporation and Chiyoda Corporation along with an Iranian engineering firm, Petrochemical Industries Design and Engineering Company, and with the cooperation of Mitsui & Co., announced a contract to construct a 2,050 t/d ammonia plant and a 3,250 t/d urea plant in the Bandar Assaluyeh region in Iran . The $230 million fertilizer complex, scheduled for completion in 2006, is one of the largest in the world and will use natural gas from the South Pars Gas Field as a feedstock. Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) have extended an export credit.

11) Japan Waives Bangladesh Debt to JBIC

March 21, 2004 – The New Nation reports that Japan relieved Bangladesh of repaying Tk 8,395 crore (158 billion yen) in debt. Through the debt relief agreement, the Bangladesh government has been exempted from the repayment of principals and interest for its loan agreements signed with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

12) JBIC Extends Financing to India

March 31, 2004 – Sify Finance reports that Japan's Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) extended India Rs 5,102 crore credit for the implementation of eight projects, a 12.4% increase over JBIC's previous years soft loan financial assistance. Projects to be funded include the Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System (DMRTS) Project, Haryana Integrated Natural Resource Management and Poverty Reduction Project, Phase II of the Purulia Pumped Storage Project, Dhauliganga Hydroelectric Power Plant in Uttranchal, and Rengali Irrigation Project in Orissa.

13) Japan Issues First Trade Insurance for Postwar Iraq

April 24, 2004 The Kheleej Times reports that Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) will insure equipment shipped by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. to rebuild a power plant in Hartha, a project undertaken by the U.N. Development Programme.

14) Em-Im Bank's First Transaction in Postwar Iraq

April 28, 2004 The Export Import Bank of the U.S. is insuring its first transaction for Iraq , the $15 million export sale of fogging machines and accessories for insect abatement manufactured by Tifa Ltd. of Millington , NJ for the Iraqi Ministry of Health.

15) Ex-Im Chairman on Bank's Role in Iraq

March 27, 2004 – Arabic News reports that chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank), Phillip Merrill, in his March 24 remarks to a business organization in Washington , discusses his view of the role of Ex-Im bank in the world, especially in Iraq . According to Merrill, the U.S. must help Iraq realize wealth quickly, and that unless it can find a way of using its oil reserves to obtain the necessary capital, the U.S. taxpayer will likely have to pick up the tab.

16) Democratic Alliance Welcomes Brit Arms Probe

March 31, 2004 – News 24 reports that the Democratic Alliance welcomes a British parliament investigation of allegations of bribery involved in an arms deal between South Africa and British firm BAE Systems. Britain 's Export Credit Guarantee Deparment (ECGD) helped finance South Africa 's arms purchase from BAE Systems. The parliament probe will investigate whether BAE systems paid any commissions or bribes in South Africa to obtain its contract.

17) ECGD and Troubled Dabhol Power Project

March 8, 2004 – The Financial Express reports that Standard Charter, ABN Amro, and ANZ have approached the British ECA, Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD), to seek $60 million towards an unpaid insurance claim against their investment in the troubled Dabhol power plant project. The project was launched by Enron in the 1990s, but forced to close three years ago due to a payments dispute that banks argue is expropriation by the Indian Government. U.S. arbitrators upheld similar claims of expropriation made by GE and Bechtel, which hold 10 percent stakes in the fallen Dabhol Power Company. Susan Crowley of Corner House stated, “Dabhol has long been surrounded by controversy, corruption charges and human rights abuses. It is a mystery what these investors saw in it and why the ECGD saw it fit to back them.”

18) British, French, and Italian ECAs Finance Oil Pipeline in Algeria

March 29, 2004 – Norway 's Afrol News reports that the Algerian OZ2 oil pipeline, stretching 800km from Haoud el Amra in Southern Algeria to Arzew on the Mediterranean coast is foreseen to transport the equivalent of 25% of France 's oil consumption when it is finalized in 2005. The pipeline is being constructed by Sonatrach, the Algerian national oil and gas company, a French-Italian consortium, and British companies with insurance from the Export Credits Guarantee Department (EKGD) UK , SACE Italy, and COFACE France . See related story in Business Credit Management.

19) Bulgarian Nuclear Plant Back in Action

April 22, 2004 – Novinite reports that Czech companies, including Skoda, have bid for completing work on Bulgaria 's second nuclear plant, and the Czech Export Bank is backing Skoda's bid. A ban that was placed on the project back in 1992 after pressure from environmentalists was lifted at the end of last year.

20) Australian Firms Plunder the Environment in Papua New Guinea

May 2, 2004 – Writing in The National, Sir Paulias Matane, invites comments on an article regarding the Australian governments “aid” to the Pacific Island states. The article states that companies such as BHP-Billiton and Rio Tinto, through support of the Australian Export Finance Insurance Corporation (EFIC), have destroyed societies and the environment through mining projects. The Australian NGO, AIDwatch commented that the Australian-owned CRA/Rio Tinto Lihir gold mine project will in its lifetime dump 98 million tones of cyanide contaminated tailings and 330 million tones of waste rock into the ocean in an area described as one of the richest areas of marine biodiversity on earth. Nevertheless, in 1999 EFIC provided the mining companies with the risk insurance required to begin the project.

21) Australian EFIC Proposes Assistance to Sri Lanka with Water Supply Project

March 28, 2004 Sri Lanka's Daily News reports that Australian Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) has offered the Sri Lanka National Water Supply & Drainage Board to provide funds for Phase III of a three phase drinking water supply project to Ampara District. The objective is to cover the entire area with pipe borne water, supplying safe drinking water to 433,331 people or 73.5% of the district population.

22) OPIC's 2003 Environmental Report Now Online

April 2004 - OPIC's 2003 Annual Environmental Report is now online. The report includes a cursory section on projects rejected on environmental grounds. Claiming business confidentiality, OPIC conceals the names of the projects, sponsors, or foreign enterprises connected to the rejected projects.

23) COFACE Releases List of Projects

April 2004 – The French ECA, COFACE, has released a list of projects it has backed in the last quarter of 2003.

V3N2

1) Arms Deal Blocked

February, 2004 The Belgian NGO, Proyecto Gato, and the U.K. NGO, Rights and Accountability In Development, have won an impressive victory to block the Belgian Government license for proposed arms transfer to Tanzania, which was to be backed by the Belgian ECA, Delcredere. See the four-page NGO background memo on the victory. See the Wallon-Minister - President Van Cauwenberghe press release about the denied license.

2) Leaked Report Exposes Leaky BTC Pipeline

February 18, 2004 Human rights and environmental groups demanded an independent inquiry into BP's embattled Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, following allegations in the Sunday Times that the company concealed both potential fraud and likely environmental catastrophe from governments and banks which subsequently decided to fund the project. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline project is co-financed by the IFC, the EBRD, and various other government agencies including US-Exim, JBIC, Nexi, Hermes, SACE, Coface, ECGD, OPIC, and commercial banks. “This pipeline will be like an artificial fault line running through some very unstable territory,” says the World Wildlife Fund.

See NGO Press Release

See Sunday Times exposè

3) Hunger Strike Looms At Proposed Coal Plant

Philippine environmental activists are poised for a hunger strike when construction of a 210-megawat coal-fired power plant in Villanueva Town, Misamis Oriental Province commences. According to a spokesperson for the Philippine NGO, Task Force Macajalar, “We believe that risking our lives would be worth it if only to stop the madness of government officials who are out to kill us with the toxicity of the pollutants of the coal." Friends of the Earth Japan has urged the Japanese Bank for Reconstruction and Development to not support the project.

See articles in:

Inquirer News Service

Sun Star

Minda News

4) OPIC Releases New Policies for Forests and Dams

February 2004 OPIC has released updated environmental policies conditioning their support for investment in dams upon the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams and prohibiting support for projects that result in conversion or degradation of critical forest areas or related critical natural habitats.

5) Private Sector Targeted Alongside ECAs

February, 2004 Efforts to halt environmentally and socially controversial projects are shifting from the public sector (such as The World Bank Group or Export Credit Agencies) to the private sector (such as the Equator Principles, singed by private banks), writes Jon Sohn for Environmental Finance magazine.

6) Banking on Empire

February 17, 2004 According to the Guerilla News Network , by mortgaging the national oil revenues through the Trade Bank of Iraq, a bank managed by New York-based multinational JP Morgan Chase, Iraq ministers can now borrow billions of dollars to buy equipment from overseas suppliers. The Trade Bank of Iraq was formed partially to replace the trade guarantees established by the U.N. oil-for-food program. Unlike the oil-for-food program, the Trade Bank guarantees are administered by the private sector and various government export credit agencies. Although the Occupation Authority and J.P. Morgan Chase are making it possible for Iraq to trade with the outside world and buy necessities, critics express concern that the multinational banks may be shackling a future Iraqi government with an unknown quantity of debt, and that the Trade Bank of Iraq will favor companies from contributing nations, regardless of whether they offer the best products for the price.

7) Three ECAs to Support Railway Project in Philippines

February 21, 2004 According to Sunstar, the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), KFW-Hermes of Germany, COFACE of France, OEKB in Austria, and the European Investment Bank, are helping to fund the Penay Railways Rehabilitation Project, a project to revive the railway system between Iloili and Roxas, and the integration of the existing railway line with the airport in Cabatuan-Sta. Thousands of Iloili City residents, who will be negatively affected by the Railway, are petitioning the City Council to block the revival and to conduct a public hearing regarding the project.

8) Russian Diamond Monopoly and Canada's EDC Sign US$15 Million Deal

February 8, 2004 According to Tacy Ltd ., Canada's state export credit agency, Export Development Canada (EDC) and Russian diamond monopoly Alrosa, signed a five-year credit agreement to finance Alrosa's imports of Canadian-made mining machinery and transport management equipment. This marks the first agreement between a Russian company and EDC.

9) Deals Without Tenders

February 23, 2004 According to Balkan Reconstruction Report , critics claim that the Romanian government backed two projects without undergoing proper tender processes, one of which will be ensured by China Road & Bridge Corp. through loans from Eximbank China, China Development Bank, and Sinosure, China's official export credit insurance agency. This comes on the heels of the Romanian government's controversial December 2003 decision to award the San Francisco based construction giant, Bechtel, a $2.5 billion contract to build a four-lane, 415 kilometer motorway from the city of Brasov to Oradea. Opponents to the Bechtel contract stated that the contract process was politically motivated and violates an agreement with the EU on public acquisitions. Top ten banks announced interest in the Bechtel project, which will receive some loan guarantees from U.S. Exim Bank.

10) Review of Oil and Gas in Indonesia

February 29, 2004 According to Laksamana.net , a week after a fire broke out at the Attaka offshore oil and gas field off East Kalimantan Province, JBIC and Nexi signed a $400 million loan agreement with the State-managed PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) to help finance a petrochemical project in Tuban, East Java. The plant will have the capacity to produce 3.6 million tons of petrochemicals annually, comprised of 1 million tons of aromatics, 1 million tons of light naphtha, and 1.6 million tons of kerosene and diesel.

11) Exim Bank Approves $60 Million Credit for Mexican Utility

March 1, 2004 According to PRNewswire , the US Ex-Im Bank approved a $60 million credit guarantee to back Mexico's government owned utility, CFE's, purchases of equipment and services from a wide-range of US companies. Several foreign companies backed by their export credit agencies are seeking to address CFE's procurement requirements.

12) Bibliography of ECAs covering policy, legal and economic literature including books, journal articles, papers, monographs and policy notes written over the past 40 years.

13) A History of Exim Bank

U.S. Exim Bank has commissioned a book of its history, from 1934 to 2000. Inter Alia , The Market, The State, and The Export-Import Bank of the United States , explores the tension between private market principles and foreign policy objectives within the U.S. Government and the Exim Bank. See the book reviews by:

Becker, William H. and William M. McClenahan, Jr., Economic History Services

Michael R. Adamson, Business History Review

V3N1

1) Request for civil society consultation on OECD ECA Arrangement Review: On Feb. 3, 2004, 12 NGOs in the ECA-Watch Network called on the Chair of the Participants of the OECD Export Credit Arrangement to conduct a consultation with civil society regarding its 2004 review and revision of the Arrangement. The NGOs are concerned that, inter alia , the current Arrangement favors coal, oil, gas, and hydro power over renewable sources of energy. View a copy of the letter.

2) ECA-Watch Press Release: Groups Blast Weak OECD Agreement on Environment

A common agreement among Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) reached in November/December at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been heavily criticized by ECA-Watch, an international network of environment, development, human rights and labour groups. View a copy of the so-called “Recommendation on Common Approaches” in light of recent case studies critiquing many ECA-backed projects: " Race to the Bottom II ."

3) Support Walhi's Call for Disclosure of Loan Agreement for Koto Panjang Dam Project:

http://www.foei.org/cyberaction/kotopanjang.html

The Indonesian NGO, Walhi (Friends of the Earth, Indonesia), is calling for letters to the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) and other financial institutions, demanding disclosure of the loan agreement for the Koto Panjang Dam Project. The call for letters parallels a lawsuit representing approximately 8,400 Sumatrans against ODA for human rights violation and environmental destruction.

4) Implementation of the ECG's Action Statement Of December 2000 on Export Credit Support: Comments on Best Practices Proposals: A Presentation to the ECG: A Presentation to the ECG by Michael H. Wiehen Member of the Advisory Council, Transparency International
November 4, 2003

5) Submission of the Australian NGO, Aid/Watch, to the Review of the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) Environmental Guidelines: http://www.aidwatch.org.au/index.php?current=38

AID/WATCH and the Environmental Defender's Office submission to EFIC concerning the agency's review of its environmental guidelines.

6) New Belgian NGO Website on ECA Reform

http://www.proyectogato.be/exportcreditandinsuranceagencies.htm

The Belgian NGO, Proyecto Gato, has launched a new website on ECA reform. The website goes in detail on the OECD Guidelines, National Contact Point, Common Approaches, with links to reports, letters and others ECA – Watch groups.

7) Secretive ECAs Increasingly Subject to Public Scrutiny
http://www.worldpress.org/Europe/1641.cfm

11 Nov. 2003 Just as World Trade Organization talks at Cancun industrialized democracies meet in Paris to discuss strengthening ecological and human-rights guidelines for ECAs. ECAs' normally secretive operations are being subjected to public scrutiny.

8) Les Exportateurs Sur La Sellette

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/recherche_resumedoc/1,13-0,37-829070,0.html

27 Nov. 2003 Le Monde reports on Export Credit Group Agreement

9) U.S., Allies Set Environment Pact; Boon Is Seen to Overseas

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107110761221485600,00.ht

11 Dec 2003 Wall Street Journal article on Export Credit Group Agreement

10) US Ex-Im Bank Oks $150 Mln Loan for Caspian Pipeline

http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/newswire/2003/12/30/rtr1194354.html

12 Dec. 2003 The U.S. Export Import Bank approved $160 million in repayment loan guarantees to U.S. companies to supply engineering services, control systems, and pump systems to the $3.4 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project.

11) US Ex-Im Bank Loan to Salvage Textile Company in the U.S. North-East

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=31308

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2065-2004Jan8.html

9 Jan. 2004 U.S. Export-Import Bank gave more favorable terms for a $35 million loan to Malden Mills, a textile company located in Massachusetts whose owners have been trying to pull out of bankruptcy court. Proponents claim the loan could help save 1,200 local jobs.

12) ECAs Financing Business in Iraq

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/business/12_01_04_c.asp

12 Jan. 2004 The Bush administration has assigned $18.6 billion for reconstruction in Iraq, one-third of which will be allocated to mega infrastructure projects, while two-thirds will be spent to carry out projects on health, roads, bridges and other related efforts. The U.S. Ex-Im Bank will issue letters of credit for exporters.

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040105&s=klein

18 Dec. 2003 OPIC is poised to provide political risk insurance to principally U.S. companies to assuage the fears of shell-shocked investors. Ostensibly intended to support U.S. foreign policy, OPIC may leave U.S. taxpayers holding the bag.

13) JBIC to Back Investments for Azadegan Oil Field in Iran

http://www.asahi.com/english/business/TKY200401160144.html

16 Jan. 2004 Japan has proposed extending more than $1 billion in loans to Iran through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to develop the Azadegan oil field. Azadegan is located near the Iraqi border, is one of the Middle East's largest untapped reserves, and is estimated to hold 26 billion barrels of oil. Firms involved include Inpex Corp., Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Tomen Corp., and Royal Dutch/Shell Group.

14) KEXIM Subsidizing South Korea Shipyards

http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200401/03b281c0-a25c-4ac3-94a6-42ad06309006.htm

16 Jan. 2004 EU regulators to renew laws allowing members to offer aid payments to their shipyards involved in constructing tankers carrying gas, chemicals and containers. The move is a direct result of a legal dispute in which Brussels accuses South Korea of pricing ships below manufacture cost and ‘dumping' them on EU territory. The low prices are due to subsidies arrived through a bi-lateral agreement between the shipyards and state-owned Korean Export-Import Bank (KEXIM).

15) Hungary to Subsidize Industrial Exports Through Aid Loans

http://www.interfax.com/com?item=Hung&pg=0&id=5681383&req =

16 Jan. 2004 The Hungarian Export-Import Bank will provide loans to a list of countries, compiled by the OECD, whose per capita GDP does not exceed USD 3000 per year. The countries will use the loans to finance projects or products supplied by Hungarian exporters.

16) Study of Environmental and Social Standards in Export Credit

December 2003 This study by Ecologic focuses on the incorporation of environmental and social standards into export credit agencies' lending practices associated with large dams. The study was commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), a government agency.

17) Exim Bank Files Lawsuit Against Asia Pulp and Paper

http://www.exim.gov/pressrelease.cfm/8D1E661E-A307-DFA9-AE7282999A4B618F/

23 October 2003 The U.S Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed a lawsuit today on behalf of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) against Asia Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. (APP) and three of its operating subsidiaries located in Indonesia. Ex-Im Bank is seeking to recover approximately $104 million of credits.