Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On October 14, 2011, Noble Energy, Inc. — a Houston-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company — and several lenders signed into an agreement. There was no Chinese bank involvement. On September 28, 2012, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 30 banks — including the New York Branch of the Bank of China (BOC) — entered into a $4,000,000,000 USD syndicated loan agreement amendment with Noble Energy, Inc. — a Houston-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. The maturity of the loan was October 14, 2016 and the interest rate was LIBOR plus an applicable margin. The proceeds were used by the borrower for general corporate purposes — providing financial flexibility to support the company’s capital expenditures, debt refinancing, and operational needs across its domestic and international oil and gas projects. BOC contributed $40,000,000 USD to this loan (Record ID#107979), the following lenders also participated: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ($280,000,000 USD), Bank of America, N.A. ($280,000,000 USD), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. ($280,000,000 USD), Citibank, N.A. ($280,000,000 USD), DNB Bank ASA ($280,000,000 USD), Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. ($280,000,000 USD), Barclays Bank PLC ($160,000,000 USD), Compass Bank ($160,000,000 USD), Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch ($160,000,000 USD), HSBC Bank USA, N.A. ($160,000,000 USD), Lloyds TSB Bank plc ($160,000,000 USD), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation ($160,000,000 USD), U.S. Bank N.A. ($160,000,000 USD), Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ($160,000,000 USD), Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. ($125,000,000 USD), BMO Harris Financing, Inc. ($75,000,000 USD), BNP Paribas ($75,000,000 USD), Commonwealth Bank of Australia ($75,000,000 USD), CIBC Inc. ($75,000,000 USD), Royal Bank of Canada ($75,000,000 USD), The Bank of Nova Scotia ($75,000,000 USD), Société Générale ($75,000,000 USD), UBS Loan Finance LLC ($75,000,000 USD), Fifth Third Bank ($60,000,000 USD), Toronto Dominion (New York) LLC ($60,000,000 USD), Branch Banking and Trust Company ($40,000,000 USD), PNC Bank, N.A. ($40,000,000 USD), Standard Chartered Bank ($40,000,000 USD), and The Bank of New York Mellon ($35,000,000 USD). On August 27, 2015, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 30 banks — including the New York Branch of BOC — entered into a $4,000,000,000 USD syndicated loan agreement with Noble Energy, Inc. The maturity of the loan was not explicitly stated in the provided summary, and the interest rate was LIBOR plus an applicable margin. The proceeds were used by the borrower for general corporate purposes — helping to fund operations, refinance existing debt, and maintain financial flexibility during a period of volatile energy prices. BOC contributed $40,000,000 USD to this loan (Record ID#107980), the following lenders also participated: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ($270,000,000 USD), Bank of America, N.A. ($270,000,000 USD), Citibank, N.A. ($270,000,000 USD), DNB Capital LLC ($270,000,000 USD), Mizuho Bank, Ltd. ($270,000,000 USD), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. ($270,000,000 USD), Barclays Bank PLC ($150,000,000 USD), BBVA Compass ($150,000,000 USD), BNP Paribas ($150,000,000 USD), Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch ($150,000,000 USD), Goldman Sachs Bank USA ($150,000,000 USD), HSBC Bank USA, N.A. ($150,000,000 USD), Société Générale ($150,000,000 USD), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation ($150,000,000 USD), U.S. Bank N.A. ($150,000,000 USD), Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ($150,000,000 USD), Export Development Canada ($85,000,000 USD), The Bank of Nova Scotia ($75,000,000 USD), BMO Harris Financing, Inc. ($75,000,000 USD), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, New York Branch ($75,000,000 USD), Commonwealth Bank of Australia ($75,000,000 USD), DBS Bank Ltd. ($75,000,000 USD), Fifth Third Bank ($75,000,000 USD), Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. ($75,000,000 USD), Royal Bank of Canada ($75,000,000 USD), Toronto Dominion (New York) LLC ($75,000,000 USD), Branch Banking and Trust Company ($40,000,000 USD), and PNC Bank, N.A. ($40,000,000 USD). On March 9, 2018, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 28 banks — including the New York Branch of BOC — entered into a $4,000,000,000 USD syndicated loan agreement with Noble Energy, Inc. The maturity of the loan was not disclosed in the provided summary, and the interest rate was LIBOR plus an applicable margin. The proceeds were used by the borrower for general corporate purposes — enabling Noble Energy to manage liquidity, support capital expenditures, and strengthen its balance sheet amid ongoing investment in upstream oil and gas development projects. Bank of China contributed $75,000,000 USD to this loan (Record ID#107981), the following lenders also participated: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ($265,000,000 USD), Citibank, N.A. ($265,000,000 USD), Bank of America, N.A. ($265,000,000 USD), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. ($265,000,000 USD), Mizuho Bank, Ltd. ($265,000,000 USD), DNB Capital LLC ($265,000,000 USD), Barclays Bank PLC ($151,000,000 USD), Compass Bank ($151,000,000 USD), Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch ($151,000,000 USD), Export Development Canada ($151,000,000 USD), Goldman Sachs Bank USA ($151,000,000 USD), Société Générale ($151,000,000 USD), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation ($151,000,000 USD), The Toronto-Dominion Bank, New York Branch ($151,000,000 USD), The Bank of Nova Scotia, Houston Branch ($151,000,000 USD), Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ($151,000,000 USD), ABN AMRO Capital USA LLC ($75,000,000 USD), Branch Banking and Trust Company ($75,000,000 USD), Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank ($75,000,000 USD), DBS Bank Ltd. ($75,000,000 USD), Fifth Third Bank ($75,000,000 USD), ING Capital LLC ($75,000,000 USD), Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. ($75,000,000 USD), Natixis, New York Branch ($75,000,000 USD), PNC Bank, N.A. ($75,000,000 USD), Royal Bank of Canada ($75,000,000 USD), and BMO Harris Financing, Inc. ($75,000,000 USD).
Staff comments
1. The entirety of the loan contract can be accessed at https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/72207/000007220715000050/exhibit101secondamendmentt.htm The dropbox link for the loan contact is located via: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yn87knswtg5rl84ark3qj/Source_ID_217684.pdf?rlkey=z1gi13vmvktj9sra5y706jcsr&st=niywhu75&dl=0 2. Noble Energy, Inc. was a U.S.-based energy company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. It operated both domestically and internationally, including assets in the U.S., West Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean. In 2020, Noble Energy was acquired by Chevron Corporation. 3. AidData estimates the interest rate by adding the 6-month average LIBOR rate in August 2015 and an applicable margin based on credit ratings (BBB or 1.175%).