Societe D'Electricite D'El Bibane (SEEB)

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On May 9, 2003, Centurion Energy International Inc. of Canada announced that the Societe D'Electricite D'El Bibane (SEEB) Electric Generating Power Plant built in Tunisia commenced commercial operations. Centurion was a 50% owner of the plant while its joint venture partners Caterpillar Power Ventures International Inc., a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. and CMI, a Boston-based independent power developer, owned the other 50%. The plant, constructed in south-central Tunisia near the city of Zarzis at a cost of about US$30 million, was capable of generating 27-MW per hour of power. Natural gas fuel of approximately 7 million cubic feet per day was to be supplied by two gas fields, El Biban and Ezzaouia, which were owned by Centurion and partners. Electricity generated from the plant was to be sold to La Societe Tunisienne d'Electricite et du Gaz, the Tunisian national power company, under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The power produced was to feed into the Tunisian national power grid. The project reached financial closure in April of 2002. A London-based bank and a Tunis-based bank each provided US$10.1 million of the total US$20.2 million credit facility. Centurion's equity participation in the SEEB project constituted a qualifying investment under the Tunisian Reinvestment Reserve Tax Deferral Plan. The investment extinguished a tax liability due from Centurion to the Tunisian State in the amount of approximately US$2.8 million. None None