Essar Oil picks Trafigura, BP for $1 billion oil-backed loan, as Indian refiner`s new owners seek to diversify financing base
Russian oil major Rosneft, fund UCP and Swiss commodities trader Trafigura bought Essar Oil`s large refinery, 3,500 fuel stations and infrastructure for $12.9 billion last year. Essar Oil has long relied entirely on funding from Indian banks while the new shareholders want to reduce exchange costs by adding alternative financing sources and directly use dollars to buy its oil instead
Sources said Trafigura and BP were jointly working to structure and then syndicate the loan with banks in the next few weeks. Image source: Reuters