19 Jun 2009 13:10

Rosneft repaid over $7 bln in debt in H1

MOSCOW. June 19 (Interfax) - Rosneft retired more than $7 billion in debt in the first half of 2009, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Rosneft's chairman of the board, said at the AGM on Friday.

"The company is feeling confident," Sechin said.

A source at Rosneft told Interfax previously that state-controlled oil giant might refinance more than $9 billion in debt this year.

It was reported earlier that net debt declined by $2.044 billion to $19.239 billion in the first quarter of 2009 thanks to a free cash flow of $1.134 billion and a depreciating ruble, the currency in which a portion of the debt is denominated.

The company reported in June that it had fully repaid a loan of $1.85 billion which was received about a year ago from a foreign bank syndicate in a repo deal.