INEOS UK E&P Holdings has secured a five-year US$294,000 million (£220 million) reserve-based lending facility, which it plans to use to acquire future projects.
The facility, the firm's first reserves based lending facility, was secured on the back of assets bought from DEA UK and Fairfield Energy in the UK North Sea.
INEOS bought all of the UK North Sea gas fields owned by Germany's DEA, a subsidiary of L1 Energy, last year.
The transaction included interests in the Breagh and Clipper South gas fields in the southern North Sea. The annual production from the fields acquired in the deal amount to about 8% of the UK’s annual gas production. INEOS also acquired Fairfield's 25% in the Clipper South, alongside some minor stakes in other North Sea fields.
The facility will enable repayment of part of INEOS’ financing for the acquisitions of DEA UK and Fairfield Energy and will facilitate future development expenditures, says INEOS.
“INEOS is a new entrant to the North Sea and this first step into the oil and gas backed lending market demonstrates support for both our strategic vision and our ambitious plans for the future.”
“This first RBL facility is a landmark for INEOS and validates the quality of the assets we acquired in 2015. It is seen as a catalyst to develop future projects and continue to pursue opportunities in the North Sea” said Geir Tuft, INEOS Breagh CEO.
The facility has been arranged by HSBC and Lloyds with participation from Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Bank of Montreal. Ondra advised INEOS UK E&P Holdings.