By Iain Packham
LONDON--U.K. North Sea-focused oil company Xcite Energy Ltd.
(XEL.LN) said Friday it has signed a five year, $155 million loan
agreement with a group of lending institutions, secured against oil
reserves, which will provide funding for Phase 1B development of
its Bentley heavy oil field.
"Having secured the facility in the current difficult banking
and financial market conditions, the company has demonstrated a
further substantial de-risking of the Bentley field and its
proposed development plan," Chief Financial Officer Rupert Cole
said.
The loan facility is subject to certain conditions and the
achievement of targets in the Bentley Phase 1A development work
program, including the drilling of a well and a flow test.
The facility has been arranged with Royal Bank of Scotland Group
PLC (RBS.LN), Societe Generale SA (SCGLY), General Electric Co.
(GE), Nedbank Group Ltd. (NDBKY) and BP PLC (BP.LN) subsidiary
Britannic Strategies Ltd.
Shares closed Thursday at 79.0 pence.
Write to Iain Packham at iain.packham@dowjones.com