Russian-British joint oil venture TNK-BP said on Wednesday it had placed Eurobonds worth $1 billion with maturities in 2015 and 2020 to fund its current operations and refinance its short-term liabilities. Eurobonds maturing in 2015 are worth $500 million and carry a coupon rate of 6.25% while Eurobonds due for redemption in 2020 are worth also $500 million and have a coupon rate of 7.25%, the company said in a statement.
The Eurobond issue was heavily oversubscribed, showing investors' confidence in TNK-BP's financial sustainability, allowing the company to use proceeds from the sale of Eurobonds to finance, in particular, its capital investment program, TNK-BP Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Muir said. Figures on the company's short-term liabilities were not available.
TNK-BP, a highly lucrative 50–50 joint venture between British major BP and four Russian billionaires, accounts for about a quarter of BP's global oil output, is currently carrying out prospecting and exploration of oil deposits in West Siberia, the Volga-Urals region, East Siberia and Sakhalin. TNK-BP plans to boost crude output 3% in 2010 to 71.8–72 million metric tons (1.4 mln bbl/d).
