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CNOOC gets loan for projects in countries including Nigeria.

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CNOOC gets loan for project in Nigeria
Wing-Gar Cheng
2006-06-03

CNOOC Ltd, China's largest offshore oil producer, said it got a loan of 12.8 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) from Export-Import Bank of China for capital expenditure on projects in countries including Nigeria.

CNOOC's loan will cover a period of 10 years at a fixed interest rate of 4.05 percent, the Beijing-based company said in a statement yesterday. CNOOC has the right to settle the loan before the term ends without any penalty. The company's debt-to-capitalization ratio will still be below 25 percent, it said.

"This financing activity will further optimize our capital structure," Yang Hua, CNOOC's chief financial officer, said in the statement.

China, the world's second-largest consumer of oil, is encouraging local companies to secure oil and gas supplies abroad to meet domestic energy demand and curb a reliance on crude imports that increased 25 percent in the first quarter. CNOOC has spent more than US$2.7 billion on acquisitions in Africa this year.

The company last month raised HK$15.4 billion (US$2 billion) after it sold 2.5 billion shares at HK$6.15 each, the top end of a range offered to investors.