The Royal Bank of Scotland announced at the OTC oil show in Houston yesterday that it was involved in a £78million-plus refinancing of Northern Offshore (NOF).
RBS has provided the refinancing package to the provider of drilling rigs and operating services, with two other banks.
NOF’s new credit facility has been agreed with the company’s new banking club made up of RBS, NIBC Bank from the Netherlands, and Nordic bank Nordea Bank Norge.
NOF is a global business, which has its executive headquarters in Texas.
Its main operating hub is in Aberdeen, where it employs 22 onshore staff who manage six of the eight rigs it operates worldwide.
Founded in 2000 and listed on the Oslo stock exchange, NOF also has operations in the Mediterranean, Caspian, India, Vietnam, Singapore and Houston.
NOF chief financial officer Mike Dawson said: “This refinancing maintains our solid financial footing and we are grateful to the banks involved for their backing which gives us the security to look forward and focus on our medium and long-term plans.”
Derek Busby, regional director of RBS corporate banking in Aberdeen and the north of Scotland, added: “This was an excellent opportunity for us to establish a new banking relationship with a strong business and a first-rate management team, all of whom have significant experience of the oil and gas industry.
“The oil and gas sector has not been immune from the recent economic downturn, but it is one of the sectors best placed to weather the storm and we believe NOF is well placed within that sector.”
The RBS corporate banking team is on its annual trip to Texas.
RBS completed a £125million refinance package for global oil and gas service company GulfMark Offshore (GLF) late last year, but the deal’s origins can be traced back to discussions held during OTC 2009.
GLF has a long-term relationship with RBS which dates back to the early-90s, though the seeds of the company’s most recent deal with the bank were sown last May when five UK-based RBS delegates attended the conference in Houston, where GLF has its global headquarters.
GLF provides marine transportation services to the offshore oil and gas industry, with a fleet of 88 vessels operating from various locations around the world.
The company has a significant UK presence, with more than 600 of its 1,600 global workforce employed on 25 vessels operated from its Aberdeen base.
Perry Kennedy, managing director of GLF’s North Sea region, said: “OTC is a ‘heavy-duty’ gathering attracting forward-looking businesses from all over the world.
“Our healthy relationship with RBS over the last two decades is underpinned by their clear undertaking to meet with us regularly both here in Aberdeen as well as with my executive management team in Houston. OTC creates that ideal opportunity and one which we always look forward to.”
Mr Busby is one of eight RBS delegates at OTC.