Stephen CraenManaging Director, Energy and Natural Resources, Societe Generale
Until 2018, Stephen was co-Head of the Energy Finance Team for EMEA based in London which covered Oil & Gas and both thermal and renewable Power. Now based in Sydney, Stephen supports the Energy Finance practice’s advisory assignments around the world.
Stephen has 30 years experience of providing financial advice and lending to the energy sector. He joined SG in 2001 following 15 years with Chase Manhattan. Before entering the financial services industry, Stephen worked as a petroleum engineer for Royal Dutch/Shell.
Stephen has extensive experience of advising companies to raise multi-source finance for energy projects, with a focus on multi-sponsor, very large scale, emerging market projects and has advised on the raising of over USD 35bn for a range of major, first-in-country/first-of-a-kind projects including Upstream, Pipelines, LNG and fertilisers and petrochemicals including the following landmark transactions:
Mozambique (Area 1) LNG: | Ongoing. Ca 15bn financing |
Trans Adriatic Pipeline: | EUR 3.9 bn financing for the western part of the |
Yamal LNG:
| USD 17 bn financing for Russia’s first Arctic LNG |
Star Refinery: | Restructuring of USD 3.3bn debt for a Turkish refinery |
Nord Stream: | EUR 6.4 bn financing for a gas pipeline from Russia to |
Qatargas 3: | USD 4.0 bn financing of Conoco Phillips/QP’s LNG |
Egyptian LNG (Trains 1&2): | USD 1800m financing of the first LNG plant in Egypt. |
Oman LNG: | USD 2.0bn financing of the first LNG plant in Oman |
Woodside NWS: | USD 1.45 bn financing of the first LNG plant in |
Stephen has also led teams to finance ammonia plants in Oman, Russia and Egypt.
In line with SG’s strategy to be at the forefront of financing technology innovation, Stephen has pursued transactions in: harsh environment FPSOs; floating LNG; waste to chemicals and sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals (e.g. PTA/PET). He is now on the bank’s leadership team to develop and execute the bank’s hydrogen strategy and has represented the bank at the Hydrogen Council.
Stephen holds an honours degree in physics from Oxford University.
