29 Nov 2018 18:06
29 November 2018
Eland Oil & Gas PLC
("Eland" or the "Company")
Refinancing of Reserve-Based Lending Facility
Eland Oil & Gas PLC (AIM: ELA), an oil & gas production and development company operating in West Africa with an initial focus on Nigeria, is pleased to announce the following update on its revised debt facility.
Further to the Company's interim results announcement on 20 September 2018, the Company is pleased to confirm the refinancing of its existing RBL facility with a new US$75 million reserve-based lending facility (the "RBL Facility") provided by a syndicate of lenders and secured against the Group's producing assets in OML 40.
The RBL Facility has a maturity of five years, the repayments of principal are due on a semi-annual basis so that the outstanding balance of the RBL Facility will not exceed the lower of (a) the borrowing base amount and (b) the facility amount. There is a one-year grace period from execution of the RBL Facility before any principal amount is repaid and the interest rate payable under the RBL Facility is LIBOR plus 7.5% to the extent that the total amount outstanding is lower than 50% of the higher of total commitments and the borrowing base amount, and LIBOR plus 8% in all other cases.
The RBL Facility has closed with commitments of US$75 million from Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC (a member of the Standard Bank Group) and Mauritius Commercial Bank. In addition, the RBL Facility has the potential to increase up to a maximum of US$200 million subject to incremental reserves and production. The Company is also looking to syndicate a further US$25 million to a third lender in the near-term. The RBL Facility has an initial borrowing base of US$103 million from existing Opuama-1, Opuama-3, Opuama-7, Opuama-8 and Opuama-9 wells with further upside from future inclusion of Opuama-10, and Opuama-11 wells in the next borrowing base review.
The Company currently has a cash balance of $30 million and an existing $27m of debt drawn. The RBL Facility will be used to refinance the current debt and provide low cost strategic capital for growth to support the ongoing development of the Gbetiokun field, the wider OML 40 licence and general corporate purposes.
George Maxwell, CEO of Eland, commented:
"The substantial increase in our RBL facility reflects Eland's strong operational delivery over the last few years and represents an endorsement of the quality and potential of our assets."
"The funds, together with our current cash reserves and strong operating cashflow, ensures that we can continue our significant investment programme across OML 40. Our investment to date has driven net production from zero to over 13,500 bopd and yielded great benefits to all stakeholders in the licence area. With this new facility we are now fully funded to ensure that OML40, with investment and operational discipline, delivers the next phase of production growth. Drilling in Gbetiokun has begun for the first time in over 35 years and we are extremely excited as it becomes a material contributor to our ongoing production growth."
Regulatory
This announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.
For further information:
Eland Oil & Gas PLC (+44 (0)1224 737300)
www.elandoilandgas.com
George Maxwell, CEO
Ronald Bain, CFO
Finlay Thomson, IR
Peel Hunt LLP, Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker (+44 (0)20 7418 8900)
Richard Crichton
David McKeown
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited, Joint Broker (+44 (0)20 7710 7600)
Callum Stewart
Nicholas Rhodes
Ashton Clanfield
Camarco (+44 (0) 203 757 4980)
Billy Clegg
Georgia Edmonds
Tom Huddart
Notes to editors:
Eland Oil & Gas is an AIM-listed independent oil and gas company focused on production and development in West Africa, particularly the highly prolific Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
Through its joint venture company Elcrest, Eland's core asset is a 45% interest in OML 40 which is in the Northwest Niger Delta approximately 75km northwest of Warri and has an area of 498km².
In addition, the Company has a 40% interest in the Ubima Field, onshore Niger Delta, in the northern part of Rivers State.
The OML 40 licence holds gross 2P reserves of 83.4 mmbbls, gross 2C contingent resources of 40.4 mmbbls and a best estimate of 254.5 mmbbls of gross un-risked prospective resources*
The Ubima field holds gross 2P reserves of 2.4 mmbbls of oil and gross 2C resource estimates of 31.1 mmbbl**
Net production figures relate to Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd ("Elcrest"), Eland's joint venture company. Production rates, when oil is exported via Forcados, are as measured at the Opuama PD meter, are subject to reconciliation and will differ from sales volumes.
*Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc CPR report 31 December 2017
**AGR TRACS April 2016