Oman Oil Exploration closes $1 billion pre-export finance
MUSCAT: An agreement for securing a $1 billion finance facility was signed by Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP) with leading lending institutions to fund its expansion programmes.
The new financing agreement is structured as a crude oil preexport facility, with a tenure of five years and contains an accordion option to allow additional funding of $500 million if required. The transaction has attracted keen interest from the global finance community and closed heavily oversubscribed by a group of international banks, priced at 170 basis points over the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).
“We are delighted with the strong response and competitive pricing achieved in this OOCEP inaugural external financing, despite challenging market conditions. It is an expression of confidence in OOCEP’s future outlook from leading international banks,” said Isam Al Zadjali, chief executive officer of the Oman Oil Company (OOC). “Our ability to attract this funding is a testament to the hard work of our employees and our continued growth in the upstream sector.”
“Our investment in OOCEP has matured to the point where the company can finance itself and directly contribute to OOC’s expansion plans in support of continued growth and diversification of Oman’s economy,” Al Zadjali added.
The facility has attracted some of the leading names in international banking. Natixis and Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking acted as initial mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners and coordinators, and were joined by HSBC Bank Oman as the initial mandated lead arranger and coordinator. Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Credit Suisse AG, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation joined the deal as initial mandated lead arrangers, while ABN AMRO Bank NV, Mitsubishi UFJ Finance Group and Mizuho Bank acted as mandated lead arrangers.
“We are very proud of the overwhelming interest shown by the financial community, and give thanks to all those involved in the arranging and closing of the new facility. This is a very significant milestone for our company,” said Ayad Al Balushi, director of Finance at OOCEP.