Gazprom's oil division raises $1bln in syndicated loan

Gazprom Neft, the oil producing arm of Russian energy giant Gazprom, said on Monday it had closed a deal to raise a $1 billion syndicated loan.

Gazprom Neft signed a loan syndication agreement with syndicate banks on July 4. The loan facility is intended to be used for general corporate purpose and the refinancing of existing debts, Gazprom Neft said.

"Despite the difficult market conditions, the loan facility was oversubscribed and closed within a short timeframe," Gazprom Neft said.

The facility comes in two tranches, with three and five year maturities, respectively, Gazprom Neft said.

The loan was arranged by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA), the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Barclays Capital (the investment banking division of Barclays Bank Plc), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and WestLB AG, London branch (WestLB), Gazprom Neft said.

Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov earlier said the company planned to raise loans worth a total of $2 billion in 2008. The company plans to raise another $1billion loan by the end of the year.