OREANDA-NEWS. November 27, 2009. The ceremony of signing the loan agreement worth 1.5 billion U.S. dollars between OAO TATNEFT and a syndicate of international and Russian banks has been held today in the building of the Cabinet of Ministers (Government) of the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan. The ceremony has been attended by R.N. Minnikhanov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan and Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO TATNEFT, Sh.F. Takhautdinov, General Director of OAO TATNEFT, and representatives of banks composing in the syndicate of lenders, reported the press-centre of TATNEFT.

WestLB and Unicredit / HVB banks acted as Coordinators and a Mandated Leading Arrangers, as well as a Loan Application Book Supervisors; RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and Gazprombank acted as the Mandated Leading Arrangers and the Loan Application Book Supervisors; Nordea, Bank of Moscow, BNP Paribas, VTB Europe, Societe Generale, ING, HELABA, AKBANK acted as the Mandated Leading Arrangers; other creditor banks were KFW, First Bank of Nigeria, Erste, Intesa, FIM Bank, PGGM, Russian Commercial Bank (Switzerland). In addition to the banks Vitol Company, which is one of the world's leading traders of oil and petroleum products is also participating in the loan arrangements. This Company is also a buyer (offtaker) under the contract for the supply of oil, which is collateral for the loan.

The credit consists of two tranches for 3 and 5 years. The annual interest rate for the loan amounts to LIBOR + 5.85% (for 3-year tranche) and 6.85% (for 5-year tranche). The new loan will help OAO TATNEFT to finance construction of the TANEKO refineries and petrochemical plants complex in Nizhnekamsk.

Despite the fact that the process of arranging the facility took place in a difficult economic situation the bank lending market participants demonstrated great interest to it and syndication was closed with substantial oversubscription (OAO TATNEFT decided not to increase the size of the loan).

Zenit Bank and Citibank performed as financial advisors of OAO TATNEFT to raise a loan. Legal advisers on the loan were Cleary Gottlieb firm (for TATNEFT) and Allen & Overy (for creditors).