Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), has raised an additional $1.5bn debt facility under an existing loan agreement signed in November 2014.

The funding will be used for general corporate purposes and the company’s international expansion plans.

Last November, Kufpec secured a $1bn five-year loan from a syndicate of regional and international banks.

Taking advantage of what is known as an ‘accordion’ feature, the borrower then decided to raise additional debt under the same loan agreement. This brought its total obligations to $2.5bn.

Japan’s The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, the UK’s HSBC Middle East and Royal Bank of Scotland, the US’ JP Morgan, and National Bank of Kuwait are the underwriters, joint bookrunners and initial mandated lead arrangers on the debt facility.

Kufpec is responsible for exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas outside Kuwait and is aiming to raise its output to 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) by 2020.

In March, it signed an exploration licence and petroleum concession agreement with the Pakistani government, which secured rights in the Paharpur Block.

The following banks also participated in the transaction:

Lead arrangers:

• Ahli United Bank (Bahrain)
• ANZ (Australia)
• BNP Paribas (France)
• Burgan Bank (Kuwait)
• Citibank (US)
• Commercial Bank of Kuwait (Kuwait)
• Doha Bank (Qatar)
• Gulf Bank (Kuwait)
• Mizuho Bank (Japan)
• Natixis (France)
• National Bank of Abu Dhabi (UAE)
• Qatar National Bank (Qatar)
• Samba Financial Group (Saudi Arabia)
• Societe Generale (France)
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Japan)
• Union National Bank (UAE)
• Arrangers:
• The Scotia Bank (Canada)
• Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (Bahrain)
• National Bank of Bahrain (Bahrain)