Energy giant Santos has secured $1 billion in new debt ahead of a potential balance sheet shake up in the new year.
The oil and gas company has secured a three-year, $1 billion bilateral bank loan facility from ANZ, two weeks after abandoning a Euro debt raising believed to be worth 500 million euros.
"This facility provides a substantial buffer over and above the company's funding needs in the current uncertain oil price environment," Chief financial officer Andrew Seaton said.
Santos recently slashed planned spending by $700 million and is considering asset sales in response to the weakest oil prices in five years.
But the company, which is due to begin production at Gladstone liquefied natural gas (GLNG) project in Queensland next year, insists its finances and underlying performance are strong.
Fat Prophets Resources analyst David Lennox said securing new debt was a prudent move and would give Santos flexibility if it required capital in the completion of the GLNG project or the ramp up of the PNG LNG project in Papua New Guinea in 2015.
"It may indicate that perhaps we will see a little bit of a shake up in the balance sheet when they report through December and that's to be expected as the oil price has gone down," Mr Lennox said.
But he said the company had already reduced its capital expenditure estimates to fall within its existing debt facility and had now proved that ANZ was comfortable with its balance sheet.
"ANZ wouldn't fork out $1 billion if it thought Santos was on the verge of some disaster," he said.
Santos now has around $3 billion in liquidity.
Mr Lennox added that the timing of the European debt raising had been poor given the company's share price plunge a fortnight ago.
Brent North Sea crude for February was at $US59.27 a barrel overnight following a slide to around $US70 two weeks ago.
Santos is looking forward to cash flow benefits once the GLNG project comes into production in the second half of 2015.
The company's plunging share price has wiped $8 billion from its market value in just three months, with the stock losing a third of its value in a week at the start of December.
Santos shares recently hit a decade low of $7.00, but on Friday gained three cents to close at $7.99.
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