Herminius was commissioned to provide security advisory services to the Lender Group of Export Credit Agencies and commercial banks for a US$35bn-plus energy project in a highly unstable environment. Working closely alongside the clients’ Legal, Technical and E&S consultants, Herminius provided regular, detailed advice on the security threats to the project posed by a developing insurgency and on relations with local community members, and assessed Operators’ mitigation plans, including host government agreements and other protocols. Drawing together a number of reporting streams, Herminius flagged a rapidly escalating security threat, and provided extensive source intelligence on the causes and drivers of the insurgency while also assessing the adequacy of Operators’ mitigation plans to respond to this dynamic challenge.

The Operators’  final investment decision was put on hold, ensuring that our clients were not exposed. The deteriorating security situation led to the declaration of force majeure on an adjacent multi-billion dollar project, the Lenders to which were not clients of Herminius.