Ithaca To Offer $700mn In Notes To Fund Chevron Deal

Aberdeen-based Ithaca Energy has said it will launch a debt financing offer of $700mn in senior notes to bankroll its purchase of Chevron’s North Sea oil and gas assets.

The company agreed in May to buy the US major’s stakes in ten producing fields in the central North Sea for $1.65bn – a deal that would position it as the second largest independent oil and gas producer on the UK’s continental shelf.

The transaction, expected to close in September, should quadruple Ithaca’s output to 80,000 boe/day while bolstering its 2P reserves to around 225mn boe. Through the takeover, the company will gain interests in six gas condensate fields and four oilfields. It already operates four of these fields, namely Alba, Alder, Captain and Erskine.

Ithaca is owned by Israel’s Delek Energy, the developer of several major gas fields in the east Mediterranean. Delek has floated plans to hold an initial public offering of Ithaca’s stock once the deal with Chevron is finalised.