DNO Increases North Sea Financing Facilities

Monday 18 November 2019

DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, DNO North Sea plc, formerly Faroe Petroleum plc, has increased and extended its reserve based lending (RBL) facility and its exploration financing facility (EFF).

As amended, the RBL facility limit has been increased from USD 245 million to USD 350 million. Furthermore, an additional tranche of USD 350 million will be available on an uncommitted accordion basis and the final maturity date has been extended to November 2026. The RBL facility covers DNO’s Norwegian and UK assets and is available for both debt financing and issuance of letters of credit.

Similarly, the EFF facility limit has been increased from NOK 700 million to NOK 1,000 million and an additional tranche of NOK 500 million is available on an uncommitted accordion basis. The final maturity date for the EFF facility will be yearend 2023. The EFF facility, based on the Norwegian exploration cost refund system, will cover a major part of DNO’s exploration and appraisal expenditures in Norway.

“DNO’s return to the North Sea has expanded our access to attractively-priced bank financing and lowered our overall weighted cost of capital,” said DNO’s Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, adding that “the Company now has more firepower to support its growth strategy.”