Oil India to take loan for Vankor deal

Oil India will take out a USD 500-million bridge loan to partially finance its contribution to the acquisition of a stake in Rosneft’s Vankor field, local media reported on Monday.

Commenting on the bridge loan on Monday, Oil India Chairman and Managing Director Utpal Bora said the company had all but closed the loan deal. “It will happen by the end of this quarter,” he was quoted as saying. “To finance the deal, we may first go for [a] bridge loan and later may raise money through bonds to refinance this bridge loan,” he added.

In June, Oil India, along with Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat PetroResources, reached an agreement for a 23.9% stake in the Vankor oilfield, reportedly valued at more than USD 2 billion.

India’s Oil and natural Gas Corporation’s acquisition of a 15% stake in the Vankor field was approved by the Russian government in March, with the company eying an additional 11% share in the project. Should it come to pass, Indian companies will hold 49.9% of Russia’s second-largest producing fields.