LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - July 2, 2013) - Heritage Oil Plc ("Heritage" or the "Company") (News - Market indicators)(LSE:HOIL), an independent upstream exploration and production company, is pleased to announce that Shoreline Natural Resources Limited ("Shoreline"), a special purpose private Nigerian company formed between a subsidiary of Heritage and a local Nigerian partner, Shoreline Power Company Limited, has successfully completed the refinancing of its existing bridge loan facility. The new facility is a five year $500 million Senior Secured Revolving Reserves Based Lending Facility (the "RBL Facility") which can be increased up to $600 million.
The RBL Facility, which is secured at the Nigeria level, replaces the bridge loan executed as part of the acquisition of a 45% interest in the OML 30 licence, Nigeria, and provides long-term financing to Shoreline to further develop the licence. The RBL Facility has been arranged on better terms and will provide greater flexibility than the bridge loan.
Standard Bank Plc was the Co-ordinating Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner for the RBL Facility and was joined by a syndicate of three leading Nigerian banks, First City Monument Bank Plc as Mandated Lead Arranger and Ecobank Nigeria Limited and Fidelity Bank Plc as Lead Arrangers. Funds have been drawn under the RBL Facility and the outstanding amounts under the bridge loan have been fully repaid.
On completing the RBL Facility, $50 million of cash collateral, which was put in place under the bridge loan as part of the security following the sale of the Miran asset, has been released to Heritage.
Tony Buckingham, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are very pleased to close the refinancing of existing debt facilities with long term debt. The strong syndicate of local Nigerian lenders combined with the improved borrowing cost and structure reflects the significant cash flow generation from the world class OML 30 asset in Nigeria. The region remains a core focus for Heritage as we continue to consider further opportunities."
Notes to Editors
- Heritage is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The trading symbol is HOIL. Heritage has a further listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (News - Market indicators).
- Heritage is an independent upstream exploration and production company engaged in the exploration for, and the development, production and acquisition of, oil and gas internationally.
- Heritage has producing assets in Nigeria and Russia and exploration assets in Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Malta, Libya and Pakistan.
- All dollars are US$ unless otherwise stated.
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FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:
Except for statements of historical fact, all statements in this news release - including, without limitation, statements regarding production estimates and future plans and objectives of Heritage - constitute forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties such as: risks relating to estimates of reserves and recoveries; production and operating cost assumptions; development risks and costs; the risk of commodity price fluctuations; political and regulatory risks; and other risks and uncertainties as disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in its Prospectus dated 6 August 2012, as supplemented by a supplementary prospectus dated 23 August 2012, and elsewhere in Heritage documents filed from time-to-time with the London Stock Exchange and other regulatory authorities. Further, any forward-looking information is made only as of a certain date and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management of the Company to predict all of these factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking information.