Petrobras closes $ 289 mm financing deal with Nisho Iway

Brazil's Petrobras closed a $ 289 mm financing deal with Japanese group Nisho Iway, according to the Gazeta Mercantil. The company also announced it is close to obtaining $ 3.9 bn from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for further exploration projects.
The agreement between Petrobras and Nisho Iway involves the sale of the P-37 production platform to the Japanese company, which will then lease back the platform for use in the Campos basin, situated off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. According to Petrobras finance director Ronnie Vaz Moreira, this is the company's third direct financing operation closed over recent months. He highlighted that these deals allowed the company to extend its debt and free resources for further investment.

Moreira said Petrobras had plans to enter into sale lease-back agreements for 4 other platforms. "We have a lot of equipment with a sufficient working life left to sustain such financing agreements," said Moreira. But he added that the company would have to take care not to saturate the market as the number of investors available to enter into this kind of deal is limited.
The Petrobras financial director also announced that the company expects to close two further long-term project finance loans with the JBIC. The funds will be used to finance 60 % of Petro bras' exploration and production projects in the Barracuda, Caratinga and EVM fields.
The funds will be borrowed off balance, through a special purpose company set up to administrate the debt. The remaining 40 % of the financing will come from Japanese trading companies and private banks, said Moreira. Petrobras closed a similar deal, borrowing $ 850 mm from a consortium involving the JBIC, Japanese trading companies and private banks for its Cabiunas gas extraction and supply project in the Campos basin.