Diadema III

completed

Compañías Asociadas Petroleras S.A. (“CAPSA” or the “Company”) is a small Argentine oil producer which operates 7 fields in the Comodoro Rivadavia region (part of the San Jorge basin). CAPSA which currently produces 1,660 m3/day (eq. to 10,500 bbl/day) has demonstrated expertise in the development of mature oil fields through the reliance on secondary recovery waterflood techniques. IFC has been requested by CAPSA to provide a corporate loan (the “Facility”) of up to $60 million to finance the Company’s capital expenditure program and refinance some of its term debt into longer tenors not currently available in the market (the “Project”). IFC expects to mobilize 50% (up to $30 million) of the Facility through the B loan program and/or from other funding sources on a parallel basis. As part of its strategy to sustain the production of its mature fields, CAPSA will be undertaking flood efficiency techniques through polymer injection, the drilling of infill wells and the drilling of advanced wells. The Company had already initiated in 2007 a pilot program for polymer injection which proved successful and intends now to go full scale. The polymer and the drilling of infill wells investment is estimated to cost $35 million while capital expenditures for advanced wells are estimated at $19 million. Part of the investment program includes CAPSA’s refinancing of its debt with Deutsche Bank of $17.5 million which is being repaid between now and December 2011. The refinancing will enable the Company to free up cashflows to undertake the flood efficiency projects.