News

WASHINGTON, DC – The newly constituted Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) on Thursday, March 13, unanimously approved the second amendment of a 2019 direct loan of up to $4.7 billion to support the export of U.S. goods and services for the development and construction of an integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. The financing for the project located on the Afungi Peninsula in northern Mozambique will support the engineering, procurement, and construction of the onshore LNG plant, related facilities, and offshore activities. 

The transaction, which had been on a four-year pause, will support an estimated 16,400 good-paying American jobs which support workers and families at more than 68 companies across 14 states including Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina, New Jersey, California, Nevada, Colorado and the District of Columbia. Follow-on states are expected to support thousands of additional jobs across the United States. 

“I am pleased that in authorizing this amendment the Bank finally fulfills the commitment EXIM made nearly six years ago to this Mozambique LNG project, which is important to thousands of U.S. employees working for U.S. manufacturing and services companies,” said Acting President and Chairman Jim Cruse. “My hope is that moving this project forward will convey how serious EXIM is in its efforts to increase U.S. export competitiveness and that American workers should never be at a disadvantage against foreign competitors.” 

Acting Vice Chairman Jim Burrows added, “This 2019 transaction, which is the largest deal in EXIM’s now 91-year history, finally can move forward so that thousands of American workers can export their “Made in the USA” equipment and services, something that instead would have gone to Chinese and Russian manufacturers but for President Trump’s leadership in reauthorizing EXIM. Our great U.S. companies large and small—including those that will benefit from this $4.7 billion EXIM loan, which will be repaid and generate $600 million in interest and fees for the U.S. Treasury—need a level playing field to compete in a world in which there are at least 115 competing foreign export credit agencies, many of which are proactively furthering the national interest objectives of their governments.” 

In 2019, President Donald Trump reauthorized EXIM after four years of near closure in order to give American workers a level playing field, expand foreign markets for American-made goods, help create more great-paying jobs, provide equal footing for U.S. businesses by increasing their competitiveness globally, and ensure the world sees more products stamped with “Made in the USA.”

Now, as part of the second Trump Administration, EXIM proudly supports President Trump’s promises of creating employment opportunities for American workers, putting American workers first in trade, and undoing the harm to the American economy caused by the Biden Administration’s coercive climate policies. 

Last year, numerous executives of U.S. companies, including manufacturers and service providers who plan to utilize U.S. subcontractors and the domestic supply chain of goods and services for the Mozambique project, contacted EXIM and the U.S. Congress urging the Board’s consideration and approval of the amendment for the globally strategic project. The executives who wrote to former EXIM Chairman Reta Jo Lewis on behalf of their employees and subcontractors so that thousands of U.S. jobs in support of the project could be assured included: 

• Mr. Lorenzo Simonelli, Chairman & CEO, Baker Hughes, Houston, TX 
• Mr. Peter de Laat, CEO, Brunel Energy Inc., Houston, TX 
• Mr. Mark D. Butts, CEO, CB&I, Houston, TX 
• Mr. Shane Reph, COO, Ebara Elliott Energy, Jeannette, PA 
• Mr. Lee Jordan, CEO, Gate Energy, Houston, TX 
• Ms. Kathryn Renee Eberwein, CEO, Global Edge Group, LLC, and its affiliate companies, The Woodlands, TX  
• Mr. Ken West, President and CEO, Energy & Sustainability Solutions, Honeywell, Charlotte, NC 
• Mr. James J. Kirchdorfer, Jr., CEO, ISCO industries, Inc., Louisville, KY 
• Captain William G. Schubert, President & CEO, International Trade & Transportation, Inc., Pineville, TX 
• Mr. Jonathan Motherwell, President, Jonathan T. Motherwell and Associates, LLC, The Woodlands, TX 
• Mr. Michael McKelvy, President and CEO, McDermott, Houston, TX 
• Mr. Paul Jacob, General Manager, Ocean Flow International, LLC, Houston, TX 
• Mr. Felipe Gonzalez, President, PERC Engineering, LLC, Houston, TX 
• Ms. Mary Zappone, CEO, Sundyne, LLC, Arvada, CO 
• Mr. Douglas Pferdehirt, CEO, TechnipFMC, Houston, TX 
• Mr. Quintin Kneen, President & CEO, Tidewater Inc., Houston, TX 
• Mr. Donnie Smith, CEO, W-Industries, Spring, TX 
• Mr. Darton Zink, President & CEO, Zeeco, Inc., Tulsa, OK  

These executives emphasized the critical role EXIM financing played in the successful completion of the project while noting the effects the continued delay of the project’s start could have on U.S. companies looking to do business in the region, stating that “without EXIM's approval of the amendment allowing the restart of construction, we consider that the project as currently defined will be jeopardized. Any potential new project would require new contractual arrangements and potentially new project participants with different geopolitical interests, an outcome that would be disadvantageous to all U.S. corporations that may compete for project contracts.” The letter continued on to note that “EXIM is considered a bellwether export credit agency, and your approval of the amendment is essential so that construction may be resumed as early as possible in 2025.” 

This second amendment, which contains no material change from the original approval and thus is not subject to additional U.S. Congressional notification, extends certain dates and makes related changes in connection with the restart of project construction operations following a security related force majeure declaration by the project operator in April 2021. Consistent with President Trump’s goal of ushering in an American manufacturing renaissance, the EXIM team thoroughly reviewed the physical security situation of the project. Upon conclusion of the review, EXIM determined that the security risks to the project had been properly addressed, with substantial systems in place and appropriate management plans and mitigation applied to respond appropriately to evolving security concerns. 

“At a time when EXIM’s finance export support is vital to the U.S. supply chain,” said Director Spencer Bachus III, “the vote taken to authorize this amendment to the Mozambique LNG project reinforces the fact U.S. manufacturers require a diversified portfolio of U.S. and international export projects to remain competitive and viable.” 

Both during the initial consideration of the 2019 transaction and today, EXIM upheld and will continue to uphold its statutory requirements as set by Congress, including the prohibition on discrimination based on industry, sector, or business. This project, which supports the export of U.S. equipment and services, will not compete in any harmful way with the production of U.S. LNG. EXIM is required by statute to conduct an economic impact analysis for each of its transactions and concluded with independent experts that the transaction would likely have a net positive impact on the U.S. economy, based on supply/demand analysis over the life of the loan.

Before the 2019 Board approval, the transaction also underwent a lengthy and transparent internal, interagency, and external due diligence and risk review process. Private financing was not available for the project given its size and complexity. Additionally, EXIM was told that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia originally were slated to finance the deal, a factor important to the United States’ national security interests allowing the transaction to be included as part of EXIM’s China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP), which was also established in EXIM’s historic 2019 reauthorization. The proposed transaction was sent to the U.S. Congress on August 22, 2019, for a 35-day notification period, open for public comment between August 23 and September 17, 2019, unanimously approved by the first Trump Administration’s EXIM Board of Directors on September 26, 2019, and then unanimously amended on May 14, 2020.

As is underscored in its charter, EXIM also was—and will continue to be—focused on raising awareness, conducting outreach, and enhancing the tailoring of products to help U.S. companies large and small that are interested in exporting, including with the U.S. LNG export industry. For example and as published in the Federal Register, on September 16, 2019, LNG Allies President and CEO Fred Hutchinson wrote to EXIM about ideas discussed in EXIM’s outreach meetings, including one that took place in August 2019 with LNG Allies, the Center for LNG, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute, and the American Petroleum Institute. Hutchinson noted, “[t]he ideas discussed during the August 21 meeting and in other meetings with EXIM staff, such as risk guarantees for lower credit-quality buyers of U.S. LNG, EXIM participation in foreign LNG import facilities (using LNG from the United States), and EXIM participation in the financing of U.S. export facilities could be particularly valuable in assisting the next wave of U.S. LNG export projects reach final investment decisions, creating thousands of jobs, and adding billions of dollars to the U.S. economy. In light of EXIMs commitment to working with U.S. LNG project developers to increase U.S. energy exports LNG Allies no longer objects to the Bank supporting the exports of U.S. goods and services to Mozambique as described in the August 23 Federal Register notice.” 

Additional Amendment Approval Improves “Make More in America” Program Efficiency 

During the meeting, the Board also unanimously approved a separate amendment to its Make More in America (MMIA) initiative so that transactions with an upper limit of $25 million, after undergoing fulsome due diligence and risk analysis to protect the American taxpayer, can be approved by specific senior EXIM officers. This action reduces government bureaucracy and red tape, which will improve EXIM’s efficiency and customer service when considering MMIA applications. Through EXIM’s existing medium- and long-term loans, loan guarantees, and insurance for export-oriented domestic manufacturing projects, MMIA helps companies make more in America, including sectors critical to national security, and strengthens the resiliency and security of America’s supply chains. 

EXIM, as a special tool in the U.S. trade toolbox, stands ready to empower U.S. businesses and workers to compete globally. As of January 20, 2025, EXIM had obligated $34 billion of its $135 billion in financing authority as set by the U.S. Congress. This leaves approximately $101 billion available to support future transactions, and EXIM, per its Congressional charter, welcomes all applications that support American jobs and U.S. exports for consideration.

ABOUT EXIM: 

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation’s official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. Learn more at www.exim.gov.  

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