Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On July 7, 2014, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 25 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) — entered into a £1.4591 billion GBP ($2.5 billion USD) syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Premier Oil plc — an independent United Kingdom-based oil company — for refinancing purposes. This loan carried a maturity period of five years, with two one-year extension options, a final maturity date of July 7, 2019, and was unsecured. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance an existing $1.1 billion USD facility, for letters of credit for decommissioning obligations, for general corporate purposes, and the development of oil and gas fields. In addition to BOC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: ING Group N.V., Barclays Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Citigroup, DBS Bank, DnB NOR Bank, HSBC Bank Plc, Lloyds Bank, Nordea Bank Abp, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), ABN Amro Bank N.V., Mizuho Financial Group, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB), Banco Santander, S.A., Bank of Montreal, BNP Paribas S.A., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB), and Wells Fargo Bank N.A. ING and Barclays each contributed £70.04 million GBP ($120.00 million USD) to the loan syndicate, while CBA contributed £57.36 million GBP ($98.28 million USD). ING And Barclays served as facility agent. BOC, CBA, Scotiabank, BTMU, Barclays, Citigroup, DNB, HSBC, ING, Lloyds, Nordea, and RBC served as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners. By late 2016, Premier Oil was reeling from the long-term decline in oil prices. As a result, multiple lenders sold out of syndicated loans to Premier Oil, making it difficult for the company to refinance and amend its existing loans to extend maturities.