ONGC acquisition of Conoco Philips' Kashagan oilfield stake will up debt $5 bn: Moody's
Rating agency Moody's has said ONGC's acquisition of Conoco Phillips' 8.4 per cent stake in Kazakhstan's Kashagan oilfield will be 'credit negative' as the state-owned firm's debt will rise by USD 5 billion.
"The acquisition would be funded with debt and would increase ONGC's consolidated net debt by at least USD 5 billion, a credit negative," it said in a note today.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has been struggling to generate positive free cash flows given its already high capital expenditure programme (about USD 7.5 billion in current year) and projected rise in its fuel subsidy outgo to Rs 60,000 crore from Rs 50,000 crore last year, it said.
"For the 12 months ended March 31, ONGC generated free cash flow of USD 145 million and had USD 3.2 billion of debt and nearly USD 5 billion of cash.
"We expect ONGC to increase its net borrowings by approximately USD 5 billion to fund this acquisition," it said.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of the state explorer, had earlier this week said it will pay about USD 5 billion from ConocoPhillips for the Kashagan stake.
The deal, which is subject to relevant regulatory approvals, priority rights and consortium preemption rights, is to close in the first half of 2013.
The acquisition would mark ONGC's entry into the oil-proven North Caspian Sea of Kazakhstan.
According to the company, the acquisition would likely add an average annual production of about 7.3 million barrels for more than 25 years, with a peak of about 11.7 million barrels.
ONGC produced
Be the first to comment.
