Kuwait National Petroleum (KNPC) expects to finalise a loan of well over USD5bn to finance its Clean Fuels project by the end of 1Q17, sources involved in the project said. KNPC's CEO Mohammad Ghazi al-Mutairi said talks were progressing on the loan, which could close in 4Q16 or 1Q17. He added that the loan facility is backed by the South Korean, Dutch, British and Italian export credit agencies. HSBC is coordinating the transaction, banking sources said. The Clean Fuels Project will upgrade and expand two of Kuwait's largest existing refineries with a focus on producing higher-value products such as diesel and kerosene for export. KNPC obtained a first tranche of financing in April 2016, worth KWD1.2bn (USD4bn) and led by National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Kuwait Finance House (KFH), along with 11 participating banks, including Islamic lenders. (Arabian Business)   National Bank of Kuwait: KWD0.58 as of 16 Oct, Rating: Buy, FV: KWD0.77 per share, MCap: USD10,896mn, NBK KK / NBKK.KW Kuwait Finance House: KWD0.47 as of 16 Oct, Rating: Neutral, FV: KWD0.52 per share, MCap: USD8,124mn, KFIN KK / KFIN.KW