Nov 21, 2003 |
PAA Completes New Unsecured Bank Financing |
(Houston – November 21, 2003) Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA) today announced that it has completed the refinancing of its bank credit facilities with new senior unsecured credit facilities totaling $750 million and a $200 million uncommitted facility for the purchase of hedged crude oil.
“The closing of these new credit facilities is a significant event for the Partnership and illustrates the strong support we have from our top-tier lenders and other members of our bank group,” said Phillip D. Kramer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Plains All American. “The unsecured structure of the committed credit facilities recognizes the financial discipline with which we have executed our business plan and reinforces our steadfast commitment to maintaining a conservative capitalization.”
Al P. Swanson, Treasurer of Plains All American, stated that the new facilities provide greater financial flexibility for the Partnership. Swanson also noted that the facilities acknowledge the investment grade credit quality of the Partnership and provide for significant cost savings relative to the Partnership’s previous credit facilities.
The $750 million of new facilities consist of:
•a four-year, $425 million U.S. Revolving Credit Facility;
•a 364-day, $170 million Canadian Revolving Credit Facility with a five-year term- out option;
•a four-year, $30 million Canadian Working Capital Revolving Credit Facility; and
•a 364-day, $125 million Revolving Credit Facility.
All of the facilities with the exception of the $200 million Hedged Inventory Facility are unsecured. The $200 million Hedged Inventory Facility is an uncommitted working capital facility, which will be used to finance the purchase of hedged crude oil inventory for storage when market conditions warrant. Borrowings under the Hedged Inventory Facility will be secured by the inventory purchased under the facility and the associated accounts receivable, and will be repaid from the proceeds from the sale of such inventory.
Fleet Securities, Inc. acted as Lead Arranger and Book Manager and Fleet National Bank acted as Administrative Agent for the transaction. Bank One, NA and Wachovia Bank, National Association served as Co-Syndication Agents for the transaction and Bank of America, N.A. and Fortis Capital Corp. served as Co-Documentation Agents.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, abrupt or severe production declines or production interruptions in outer continental shelf production located offshore California and transported on the All American Pipeline, declines in volumes shipped on the Basin Pipeline and our other pipelines by third party shippers, the availability of adequate supplies of and demand for crude oil in the areas in which we operate, the effects of competition, the success of our risk management activities, the impact of crude oil price fluctuations, the availability (or lack thereof) of acquisition opportunities on terms favorable to the Partnership, successful integration and future performance of assets acquired, continued credit worthiness of, and performance by, our counterparties, successful third party drilling efforts in areas in which we operate pipelines or gather crude oil, our levels of indebtedness and ability to receive credit on satisfactory terms, regulatory changes, unanticipated shortages or cost increases in power supplies, materials and skilled labor, weather interference with business operations or project construction, the currency exchange rate of the Canadian dollar, environmental liabilities that are not covered by an indemnity or insurance, fluctuation in the debt and equity capital markets, and other factors and uncertainties inherent in the marketing, transportation, terminalling, gathering and storage of crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) discussed in the Partnership’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. is engaged in interstate and intrastate crude oil transportation, terminalling and storage, as well as crude oil and LPG gathering and marketing activities, primarily in Texas, California, Oklahoma and Louisiana and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Partnership’s common units are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PAA.” The Partnership is headquartered in Houston, Texas. |
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