Noreco renews and expands loan facilities
Stavanger, 17 September 2010: Norwegian Energy Company ASA (Noreco, OSE:NOR) is pleased to announce it has renewed and expanded its two bank loans, the reserve based loan facility and the exploration loan facility.
- These bank facilities are important elements in Noreco's financing, and will support our comprehensive exploration and development activities ahead. The loans represent a flexible source of capital at attractive terms for the company, says CEO Scott Kerr.
The exploration loan facility has been expanded with NOK 500 million to NOK 1,550 million. This credit line is used to fund up to 70% of the company's exploration cost in Norway. The loan is repaid with the eligible tax refunds the following year. The consortium for this facility consists of four banks and is lead by Sparebank 1 SR-Bank. Interest terms are NIBOR plus 3%.
For the reserve based loan facility total commitments from the bank consortium is USD 320 million. As of the end of Q2 2010, the company had drawn USD 235 million on this facility. This loan is secured by pledge in Noreco's producing assets and subsidiaries in Denmark. The bank consortium consists of eight banks and is lead by BNP Paribas. Interest terms are LIBOR plus 2.5-3.5%. Final maturity date of the facility has been extended by one year to 31.12.2014.
For further information, please contact:
Scott Kerr, CEO (+47 992 83 890)
Kjetil Bakken, Investor Relations Manager (+47 91 889 889)
This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to §5-12 vphl (Norwegian Securities Trading Act)