Chesapeake Energy said Monday its banking syndicate reaffirmed the independent producer’s senior secured revolving credit facility’s $4 billion borrowing base, Kallanish Energy learns.

To maintain the base, Chesapeake agreed to pledge additional assets as collateral, while the next scheduled borrowing base redetermination review was postponed until June 2017.

The amendment includes a collateral value coverage test, which may limit Chesapeake’s borrowing capacity if its collateral coverage ratio falls below 1.25 times, tested as of March 31, 2017.

The amendment provides temporary covenant relief, with the facility’s senior secured leverage ratio suspended until September 2017, then reverting to 3.5 times through December 2017, and decreasing to 3 times thereafter.

In addition, the amendment reduces the interest coverage ratio to 0.65 time from 1.1 times through March 2017, after which it will increase to 0.70 times through June 2017, then reverting to 1.2 times in September 2017 and to 1.25 times thereafter.

(The interest coverage ratio (ICR) is a measure of a company’s ability to meet its interest payments. The interest coverage ratio is equal to earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for a time period, often one year, divided by interest expenses for the same time period.)

During the period in which the existing maintenance covenants are suspended, Chesapeake has agreed to maintain a minimum liquidity amount of $500 million at all times, increasing to $750 million if its collateral coverage ratio falls below 1.1 times, tested as of Dec. 31, 2016.

(Collateral coverage ratio means, at any time, the ratio of the collateral amount at such date to the aggregate principal of all notes including any additional notes outstanding at the date.)

The amendment also gives Chesapeake the ability to incur up to $2.5 billion of first-lien indebtedness secured on the same basis with existing obligations under the credit agreement.

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Joseph Barone
www.ShaleDirectories.com