Oil prices may surge to between $150 and $200 a barrel as a result of political turmoil in the Middle East and the crisis in Japan in a "speculative and short-lived" increase, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said at a conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
Kudrin promised to consider Rosneft's request for continued tax breaks on its top growth asset, Vankor, but said, "We will consider it, but oil prices are high and one can't say it's not profitable to operate the field."(Bloomberg, Reuters)
Metalloinvest $1.2Bln Loan
LONDON — Metalloinvest agreed on terms for a $1.2 billion pre-export finance loan, according to a person involved in the deal.
Metalloinvest will pay an initial interest margin of 300 basis points over the London interbank offered rate on the five-year financing, said the person, who declined to be identified because the transaction is private. The margin will be adjusted based on Metalloinvest's ratio of debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, the person said.
The debt will replace a $1.6 billion term loan signed in July 2008 that paid an initial interest margin of 400 basis points. BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank are syndicating the deal to a wider group of lenders.
(Bloomberg)
