Published: July 9, 2009
A joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil plans to sell up to US$2.3bn in bonds to finance the expansion of LNG facilities, according to reports.
The notes will help fund Qatar’s RasGas liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plants and outstanding loans. HSBC, Credit Suisse and Citigroup will manage the sale.
Moody’s assigned Aa2 ratings with stable outlook on the new bonds, while S&P assigned an A rating and Fitch A+.
Qatar, the world’s top LNG exporter, plans to double its capacity this year to 62 million tonnes.
The bonds are expected to be structured as a US$500mn issue with three-year maturity, a five-year US$1.115bn bond and 10-year notes worth US$615mn which would be repaid from project cash flows.
RasGas, one of two LNG producers in Qatar, has a US$665mn bond maturing in September, according to Reuters data. RasGas's new debt will be structured as a 144a issue, meaning the bond can only be sold to certain institutional investors in the US.