Kuwait Energy plans to close by the end of this year a reserve-based lending (RBL) financing facility of up to USD100mn, sources familiar with the situation said. The Kuwaiti oil and gas exploration and production company, with assets in Egypt, Iraq, Oman and Yemen, is likely to obtain the financing on a bilateral basis from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). However, a source at the company added that other lenders were also being considered. A reserve-based lending facility is a loan secured by undeveloped oil and gas reserves of the borrower. Kuwait Energy will use the financing to back its operations at the Abu Sennan, Area A, Burg El Arab and East Ras Qattara fields in Egypt, according to an EBRD document issued in October 2016. The company source added that part of the loan proceeds would also be used to support the firm's capital expenditures at its Block 9 oil asset in Iraq. (Reuters)