Petrofac Eyes Refinancing as It Faces $240M Bribery Fine

Shadia Nasralla
Monday, October 4, 2021

British oil services group Petrofac said it is looking at refinancing options including debt and fresh equity as it faces a possible $240 million fine from a London court.

Petrofac decided to plead guilty to seven charges after a four-year Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into allegations it had failed to prevent bribery in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE between 2012 and 2015.

"The Joint Submission to the Court by the Company and the SFO details a potential penalty of $240 million prior to the application of any adjustment to the level of fine," Petrofac said in a statement released late on Friday.

"The Company has made a submission to the Court for a substantial reduction based on alternative approaches to sentencing and its ability to pay," it added.

Petrofac’s lawyer has argued a fine of between $90 million and $100 million was more proportionate, a spokesperson said.

Sentencing in the case was postponed to Monday, a court spokesperson said in an email on Friday.

Petrofac said it was reviewing options for creating a sustainable capital structure, including new revolving credit facilities with its lending banks, accessing public debt capital markets, and additional equity capital.

With the investigation hanging over its past contracts, Petrofac has struggled to secure key contracts in the Middle East and has seen its shares battered. 

(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Alexander Smith and David Holmes)

Categories: Energy Middle East Industry News Activity Europe Oilfield Services

Related Stories

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

Russia Targets 2028 for Sakhalin-3 Gas Project Start Up

Brownfield Output Decline Accelerates, says IEA

PV Drilling Takes Ownership of Noble Corporation’s Stacked Jack-Up Rig

Chinese Contractor Secures Offshore Oil and Gas ‘Mega Deal’ from QatarEnergy

Pandion Energy Divests Interests in Three Norwegian Assets to Inpex

Four Jack-Up Drilling Rig Deals Set to Bring In $129M for Borr Drilling

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Current News

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com