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March 26, 2008 |
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PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA: Migrates Sincor Project Senior Debt Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. has achieved a successful migration of the senior debt of the Sincor project to the new empresa mixta (mixed company), Petrocedeno, S.A., created to carry on the project in accordance with the applicable legislation governing the Venezuelan petroleum industry. Corporacion Venezolana del Petroleo, S.A. (CVP), a subsidiary of PDVSA, holds a 60% interest in Petrocedeno, which assumed the senior debt obligations while PDVSA guaranteed 60% of the bank debt. Total (France) and Statoil (Norway) are the foreign shareholders in Petrocedeno, holding 30.33% and 9.67% interests, repectively. Prior to the migration of the project debt, the senior debt consisted of bank loans in the aggregate amount of US$620 million and loans from affiliates of the project sponsors, PDVSA, Total and Statoil, in the aggregate amount of US$1,338 million, adding up to a total of US$1,958 million. Following the prepayments made in connection with the migration, the total outstanding debt is US$1,419 million. The negotiations were conducted with JPMorgan Chase, the administrative agent, and a steering committee of major international banks, including BNP Paribas, Calyon, Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale and WestLB. Other participating banks were Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A., Banco Provincial, S.A. Banco Universal, Santander Investment Bank Ltd., Barclays Bank Plc, Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank AG, Bayerische Landesbank, IXIS Corporate & Investment Bank, Banque Federale des Banques Populaires, Natixis, Credit Industriel et Commercial, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale, Deutsche Bank AG London Branch, Dexia Bank Belgium S.A., Lispenard Street Credit (Master) Ltd., DnB NOR Bank ASA, Export Development Canada, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, ING Belgium S.A., Succursale en France, ING Bank N.V., LRP Landesbank Rheinland- Pfalz, Mizuho Corporate Bank (USA), Nordea Bank Finland Plc, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. With the migration of the Petrocedeno debt, the confidence and support of the financial community to PDVSA and the migration process of the extinct association agreements of the Faja of the Orinoco to the new empresa mixta, under the Full Oil Sovereignity policy carried by the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is consolidated. Petroleos de Venezuela SA -- http://www.pdv.com/ -- is Venezuela's state oil company in charge of the development of the petroleum, petrochemical and coal industry, as well as planning, coordinating, supervising and controlling the operational activities of its divisions, both in Venezuela and abroad. The company has a commercial office in China. PDVSA is one of the top exporters of oil to the US with proven reserves of 77.2 billion barrels of oil -- the most outside the Middle East -- and about 150 trillion cu. ft. of natural gas. PDVSA's exploration and production take place in Venezuela, but the company also has refining and marketing operations in the Caribbean, Europe, and the US. * * * As of Feb. 14, 2008, Fitch Ratings held Petroleos de Venezuela SA's long-term issuer default rating and local currency long term issuer default rating at BB-. Fitch said the ratings outlook is negative. |
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