Iraq/Kurdistan: Glencore Restructures $500 Million Oil Loan With Iraqi Kurdistan

Jul 9, 2020 | Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, Bloomberg
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Glencore Plc has restructured a $500 million oil-for-cash loan to Kurdistan in northern Iraq, reducing payments for 2020 as the semi-autonomous region struggles due to low petroleum prices. The so-called prepayment deals, in which a trading house advances a government money to be repaid with future oil shipments, have been popular among some African and Middle Eastern producers with few others ways of raising funds. But they have also proved controversial, in some cases creating an opaque form of debt that puts governments’ finances under strain when oil prices drop.