The world's largest independent oil trader, Vitol SA, would be raising USD7 billion worth of loans at the same rate pegged for its nearest competitor, Glencore Xstrata Plc. This was confirmed by three indivduals with knowledge of the transaction.

Vitol would be utilizing credit lines with terms of one year and three years. The one year credit line is pegged at 80 basis points while the three year credit line is at 90 basis points. These basis points are above the London Interbank Offered Rate or LIbOR. According to data obtained by Bloomberg, these are the same rates Glencore was able to negotiate on its loans of the same maturity terms which formed part of an overall USD17.3 billion refinancing package finalized last June.

Vitol, with the loans, increased the overall size of its debt pile by USD2 billion after its receipt of loan pledges from 55 banks providing funding over and above its planned USD5 billion plan. The company would be replacing USD6 billion in credit lines and had reduced the interest rate on their three year credit line after being extended for another year. Data showed the new rates are pegged at 137.5 basis points above the LIbOR.