Indigenous oil company, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc , on Monday, July 3, confirmed that it has successfully extended its revolving credit facility by one year.
The Oil and Gas company stated that its revolving credit facility (RCF) has been extended until 31 December 2018 and has also been amended to amortise the remaining outstanding principal balance of US$150 million in equal instalments over five quarters commencing in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2017.
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, FirstRand Bank Limited acting through its Rand Merchant Bank Division, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Chartered Bank.
The company said the current three-year RCF was due to expire at the end of 2017, but will now expire on 31 December 2018.
Overall, Seplat said its aggregate indebtedness under its Term Loan and RCF has reduced by US$365 million from its peak in Q1 2015 of US$1 billion to the current balance at the end of June 2017 of US$635 million.
The company said this “is a significant deleveraging of the balance sheet particularly in exceptionally difficult trading conditions over the past 18 months.”
Seplat’s Chief Financial Officer, Roger Brown, who commented on the development, 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 percent 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.”
