Kuwait Energy is planning to issue a bond. The oil and gas firm is holding a series of fixed-income investor meetings starting 15 July.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is acting as sole adviser and bookrunner, according to the London-based International Financing Review.

The issue is subject to market conditions and has been rated B- by US-headquartered rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

Proceeds from the notes are expected to be used to refinance existing debt, fund capital projects such as in Iraq, and for general corporate purposes.

The rating, which is similar to its long-term issuer default rating, is based on the firm’s “good track record of producing hydrocarbons in difficult geographic areas in which it is present (Egypt, Yemen, Oman), its experienced management, and its prudent attitude to debt funding”, according to Fitch.

It added that constraints on the company’s ratings include its small size, limited reserves, operations mainly through quasi-production-sharing agreements with national oil companies, as well as its focus on a limited number of production areas dominated by Egypt, and a significant ongoing gas development project in Iraq.