Total is seeking as much as $11 billion in short-term bank financing, as oil companies contend with coronavirus upheavals and tumbling crude prices.
Total SA is seeking as much as 10 billion euros ($11 billion) in a short-term bank financing, as oil companies contend with coronavirus upheavals and tumbling crude prices.
Lenders have been invited to join a one-year term loan, with an extension option, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be be identified because the deal is private. BNP Paribas SA and Credit Agricole SA are leading the deal, which is initially pitched at 5 billion euros, the people said.
Total, which sold 3 billion euros of bonds on April 1, follows BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc in boosting credit lines as Brent crude prices halved this year. The wider economic impact of the coronavirus also means companies across Europe are on track to tap banks for more than 100 billion euros of financing since the outbreak began.
A spokesperson for Paris-based Total didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Officials at BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the transaction.
Shell signed a $12 billion credit line at the end of last month. That deal is being syndicated to other lenders, according to people familiar with the matter. BP got a $10 billion two-year facility, which was led by BNP and joined by about 20 banks, the people said. The two oil companies have also both sold bonds in euros and dollars recently.
European companies have raised at least 75 billion euros in the loan markets since March to confront the virus’s impact. Oil and gas giants are the biggest borrowers and have further boosted financial strength by slashing investment and other spending, and halting share buybacks. Daimler AG has signed a 12 billion-euro loan, while Airbus SE is working on an enlarged 15 billion-euro facility.