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SEPLAT Petroleum refinances existing debt facilities

By BusinessNews Staff on January 17, 2015

Few days after its crude oil production was impacted by the recent acts of vandalism on the Trans Forcados Pipeline network, SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Plc has stated that it has successfully refinanced its existing debt facilities with a new $700 million, seven-year secured term facility and $300 million three-year secured revolving credit facility.
The company said in a debt refinancing and operations update that the seven-year facility also includes an option for the company to upsize the facility by up to an additional $700 million for qualifying acquisition opportunities.
Reuters quoted the company as also saying yesterday that it achieved a new production record when gross daily liquids production at OMLs 4, 38 and 41 exceeded 76,000 bpd in December 2014.
“Net working interest production for full year 2014 has averaged about 24,248 bpd and 39.4 mmscfd, in line with FY (full year) guidance of 29,000 – 33,000 boepd (barrels of oil equivalent per day). Proceeds from draw down has been used to repay company’s existing debt facilities totalling $552 million and will be used to fund new business, development opportunities,” said the company.
SEPLAT and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), an oil and gas producing arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), lost over 30,000 barrels of oil per day to the recent vandalism of the Trans Forcados Pipeline. Seplat, which owns 45 per cent stake in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 4, 38 and 41, operates these leases under a joint venture with the NPDC.
Before the recent acts of vandalism at five different points on the pipeline, which were reported on January 6, the three fields were producing over 76,000 bpd.
The vandalism of the pipeline also affected gas supply to Nigeria’s power generating companies as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) disclosed that the maximum generated electricity available for it to transmit for distribution across the country dropped to 3,000 megawatts.
Apart from the over 30,000 bpd lost by Seplat and NPDC in OMLs 4, 38 and 41, NPDC also lost production at OMLs 26 and 42, which it operates.
SEPLAT has continued to deliver growth since inception, as operated crude oil production grew significantly from 11.5 million barrels in 2011 to 18.8 million barrels in 2013, with an exit gross production rate at December 31, 2013 of 61,700 bpd.
Though the company has not released the results for 2014, it operated average daily production for 2013, 51, 4000 bpd, with total annual operated production of 18.8 million barrels.
The company recorded total revenues of $880.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2013, representing a growth of 41 per cent over its performance in 2012.

[ThisDay]

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