Tullow Oil, a London-listed firm focused on oil and gas developments in Africa, has extended debt maturities by two and a half years in a major refinancing agreement with the holders of two-thirds of senior notes and with mining and commodity giant Glencore.
Tullow Oil on Friday said it had entered into a binding Lock-Up Agreement to implement a refinancing transaction with holders of about 66% of its $1.28 billion in senior secured notes due May 2026, as well as with Glencore.
The refinancing transaction releases its Senior Secured Notes and issues new Extended Notes with a maturity increased by over two years to November 2028, the oil company said.
The deal reduces total cash interest and provides a stable platform for Tullow Oil to deliver its investment program and realize the full value of its assets to support a longer term refinancing and/or explore asset value maximization opportunities, added the company, which has been struggling financially in recent years.
Under the terms of the transaction, a $400-million secured notes facility provided by Glencore will be written down to zero and released, and Glencore will receive an equal amount of new junior secured notes which will mature in May 2030.
In addition, Tullow’s Ghana unit will enter into a revolving cargo prepayment facility of up to $100 million with Glencore, maturing in November 2028. The Cargo Prepayment Facility is drawn against designated cargoes from the Jubilee and TEN oilfields offshore Ghana under the existing offtake arrangements, with each advance repaid from the relevant cargo sale proceeds.
In a separate trading statement on Friday, Tullow Oil’s CEO Ian Perks said “our 2025 full year free cashflow was negatively impacted by the commodity price environment towards the end of the year and delays in receipt of Government of Ghana receivables and the second instalment of proceeds from the Kenya disposal.”
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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