Ghana oil firm GNPC to cut Trafigura loan due to crude price dip
- By: Kwesi Kpodo & Matthew Mpoke Bigg | Reuters
- Apr 8, 2015
- 1 min read
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) will reduce the sum it borrows in a loan deal with commodities trader Trafigura to $350-$400 million from $700 million due to slumping oil prices, CEO Alex Mould said on Tuesday.
The company will also revise the terms and duration of the deal, which is for oil and gas projects, Mould told reporters. The deal would be Trafigura's first in Ghana and GNPC said it would be funded through its mandated share of national oil export revenue rather than using oil as collateral.
"We have seen prices come down and we have reevaluated the funds we need for the intended projects," Mould said, adding that the original loan deal in 2014 was based on oil prices of $110 per barrel.
GNPC is a key player in a country where oil exports are the second biggest source of revenue.
Ghana, which also exports gold and cocoa, has seen a slowdown in its formerly rapid economic growth rate due to a fall in commodity prices and fiscal problems. The country last week entered an aid agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Ghana produces around 100,000 barrels per day from its offshore Jubilee field. Mould said the TEN field is expected to start production in 18 months.
The country expects $15-$20 billion in oil investment over the next decade.
(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; editing by John Stonestreet)
Source: Reuters.com
By: Kwesi Kpodo & Matthew Mpoke Biggs
