![](https://tracker.live.rns-distribution.com/track.live-rns/4786964_75d1671758db0ed18eba2dbba83793b2.png)
31 May 2023
i3 Energy plc
("i3", "i3 Energy", or the "Company")
Settlement of Outstanding Loan Notes and Establishment of New CAD100 Million Loan Facility
i3 Energy plc (AIM:I3E) (TSX:ITE), an independent oil and gas company with assets and operations in the UK and Canada, is pleased to announce the successful settlement of the Company's outstanding £22 million Senior Secured Guaranteed Loan Notes (the "Loan Notes"), due May 31st, 2023, and the establishment of a CAD100 million loan facility, which will provide i3 greater financial flexibility and enhanced credit capacity to further execute its ongoing business plan.
The Company and i3 Energy Canada Ltd. have signed agreements with Trafigura Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Trafigura Pte Ltd., a market leader in the global commodities industry, for a CAD100 million loan facility (the "Facility") and an associated commercial contract related to i3 Energy Canada Ltd.'s oil production. The Facility has a three-year term, with interest payable monthly at 9.521% per annum, calculated on the outstanding portion of the loan. The Facility carries no penalty if repaid early and amortises monthly on a straight-line basis, which aligns with the Company's conservative approach to debt management. Advances under the Facility can be repaid either with cash or by way of set-off against deliveries of crude oil under the commercial contract which has a minimum term of three years. The documentation establishing the Facility includes the option for a CAD75 million advance which has been fully drawn by the Company and a CAD25 million accordion facility amount, which can be made available during the Facility's three-year term. The Facility is secured by a first lien against substantially all the assets and shares of i3 Energy Canada Ltd., permitting maximum financing flexibility for the rest of the Company's international portfolio. The Company will utilize a portion of proceeds from the initial advance to redeem the outstanding Loan Notes. The balance of the proceeds will be available for general corporate purposes of the Company and of i3 Energy Canada Ltd., including working capital requirements, acceleration of organic growth (from i3's proven portfolio of development drilling locations) and to fund accretive acquisition opportunities.
Carlingford, a division of GFI Securities Limited, acted as financial advisor and Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP and Burness Paull LLP acted as legal counsel to i3 in relation to the refinancing.
Majid Shafiq, CEO of i3 Energy plc, commented:
"i3 Energy is very pleased to have refinanced its outstanding debt with an expanded debt facility. In volatile capital market conditions, we have managed to improve our access to liquidity with a flexible and scalable debt facility and established a relationship with a very sophisticated oil and gas investor. It is a very positive validation of our business model and asset portfolio, and we look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with Trafigura as both companies continue to expand their operations in Canada".
Iain Singer, Head of Trafigura Canada, commented:
"Trafigura's business in Canada has grown materially in the last few years. One of our objectives is to continue to think locally while leveraging off our global platform. We continue to expand our support to a select number of companies in the oil and gas upstream sector, in Canada and across the world. We are pleased to execute this commercial agreement with i3 Energy and look forward to working together to grow our business relationship over the coming years."
Enquiries:
i3 Energy plc Majid Shafiq (CEO) | c/o Camarco Tel: +44 (0) 203 781 8331 |
| |
WH Ireland Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker) James Joyce, Darshan Patel |
Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 |
| |
Tennyson Securities (Joint Broker) Peter Krens |
Tel: +44 (0) 207 186 9030 |
| |
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Ashton Clanfield, Callum Stewart |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7710 7600 |
| |
Camarco Georgia Edmonds, Violet Wilson, Sam Morris |
Tel: +44 (0) 203 781 8331 |
Notes to Editors:
i3 Energy is an oil and gas Company with a low cost, diversified, growing production base in Canada's most prolific hydrocarbon region, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and appraisal assets in the North Sea with significant upside.
The Company is well positioned to deliver future growth through the optimisation of its existing 100% owned asset base and the acquisition of long life, low decline conventional production assets.
i3 is dedicated to responsible corporate practices and the environment, and places high value on adhering to strong Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices. i3 is proud of its performance to date as a responsible steward of the environment, people, and capital management. The Company is committed to maintaining an ESG strategy, which has broader implications for long-term value creation, as these benefits extend beyond regulatory requirements.
i3 Energy is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol I3E and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ITE. For further information on i3 Energy please visit https://i3.energy/.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.