Seplat Gets Extension on $150m Revolving Credit Facility

Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, a leading Nigerian indigenous oil and gas company listed on both the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and London Stock Exchange, is set rebuild cash on its balance sheet and ensure future growth following the successful extension of its $150 million revolving credit facility (RCF) until December 31, 2018.

In a notification to the NSE yesterday, Seplat explained that the three year RCF was due to expire at the end of 2017. But the facility will now expire on December 31, 2018 and has been successfully amended to amortise the remaining outstanding principal balance of $150million in equal installments over five quarters commencing Q4 2017.

According to the company, in all, its aggregate indebtedness under its term loan and RCF has “reduced by $365 million from its peak of $1 billion in Q1 2015 to the current balance of $635 million, at the end of June 2017, which is a significant deleveraging of the balance sheet particularly in exceptionally difficult trading conditions over the past 18 months.”

The amended facility has been provided by Citibank N.A. London Branch; Citibank Nigeria Limited; The Mauritius Commercial Bank Plc; Natixis, Nedbank Limited London Branch; Nomura International Plc; First Rand Bank Limited acting through its Rand Merchant Bank Division; Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc; The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Chartered Bank.

Commenting on the extension Seplat’s Chief Financial Officer, Roger Brown, said: “We are pleased to announce the extension to our revolving credit facility.

The approval to extend and strong demand within our core lending group, which saw around 30 per cent oversubscription, demonstrates Seplat’s strong underlying business fundamentals and is further testament to the strength of our relationship with our continuing and new lenders. The amended facility, and recent resumption of exports via the Forcados terminal, will enable the business to rebuild cash on its balance sheet as we seek to strengthen our capital structure to ensure a strong platform for future growth.”