PetroTal Share News (PTAL)

(Sharecast News) - PetroTal confirmed the securing of a $65m term loan facility on Tuesday, to finance erosion control infrastructure near its Bretana oil field in Peru, aimed at supporting both operational continuity and local community resilience.

The syndicated facility was arranged with Banco Interamericano de Finanzas and COFIDE, the country's development bank, marking COFIDE's first environmental and social-focused loan in Peru's extractive sector.

It said the four-year amortising loan was split into two tranches of $50m and $15m and carried a fixed annual interest rate of 8.65%.

PetroTal said the terms were competitive given current macroeconomic conditions, noting that the agreement included manageable covenants and no material restrictions on shareholder distributions.

The AIM-traded firm said the funding would underpin PetroTal's long-term commitment to the Puinahua district, with the erosion control project expected to deliver lasting benefits to the village of Bretana.

"We are very happy to work with BanBif and COFIDE on this credit facility," said president and chief executive officer Manuel Pablo Zuniga-Pflucker.

"Since PetroTal began operations in 2017, our stakeholders in the district of Puinahua have been integral to the success of our Company."

Zuniga-Pflucker said the company's "ongoing commitment to the residents of Puinahua" was evidenced by the establishment of the 2.5% social fund, through which it had now returned a total of $21m to the district.

"The erosion control project, which will benefit the village of Bretana for decades to come, is a continuation of our commitment to the region."

At 1342 BST, shares in PetroTal were down 1% at 32.28p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.