Tullow Oil, the Irish exploration company, has refinanced and upsized its revolving credit facility (RCF).

The facility has been increased to US$750mn from US$500mn and has a three-year tenor.

The finance was arranged by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, HSBC, ING, Natixis, RBS, Société Générale, Standard Chartered and Standard Bank.

CFO Ian Springett says: “We have taken advantage of currently strong debt markets to increase our bank commitments, further diversify our sources of funding and extend the maturity of our debt. With Tullow also benefitting from strong cash flow from production, the company is well-financed with strong liquidity and considerable financial flexibility.”

The prevous facility was due expire in November 2014. This RCF adds to Tullow’s existing debt, which includes US$3.5bn of reserve-based lending facilities and US$1.3bn of senior notes