Islamic structures growing prominent in Middle Eastern oil

Oil and gas companies have grown more comfortable with Sharia structures, which now figure prominently in some sizeable Middle Eastern financings

Any adviser looking to put together a large project finance deal in the Middle East these days will invariably seek out Islamic providers as part of the mix, as the increased availability of Sharia liquidity helps to flesh out the funding base.Many of the largest oil and gas financings in the region now have an Islamic tranche embedded in the transaction, with ample evidence that Sharia lenders can fulfil the requirements of increasingly sophisticated deal structures. The hydrocarbons sector has amassed a relatively deep pool of experience in the issuance of sukuk – Islamic debt securities, or bonds – since the first oil-related  sukuk launched by Shell in Malaysia 25 years ago. And with hea