ORLEN has successfully issued green Eurobonds worth EUR 600 million. The company’s offer attracted considerable interest, with demand exceeding the issue size by 2.5 times. The company will use the funds raised to finance its energy transition and climate change mitigation activities.
– The success of ORLEN’s green Eurobond issue is proof of international investors’ confidence in our development plans as presented in the company’s strategy. The energy transition and building the value of the ORLEN Group by 2035 requires investments of over PLN 30 billion per year. That is why securing stable financing for this development is such an important part of our activities. The latest bond issue has allowed us to obtain long-term financing in the demanding European market, which further confirms investors’ confidence in the company’s solid and secure financial position. We will allocate the funds obtained to, among other things, the development of renewable energy sources and the expansion of zero-emission road transport infrastructure – said Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN.
The EUR 600 million bond issue has a fixed interest rate of 3.625% per annum. These are seven-year bonds maturing on 2 July 2032. The issue was international in nature and was mostly taken up by foreign investors, of which over 60% are ESG investors, i.e. investors who require the issuer to meet specific criteria related to sustainable development. The value of subscriptions amounted to EUR 1.49 billion, which means that the issue was oversubscribed by nearly 2.5 times.
– In line with its strategy for 2035, ORLEN will allocate PLN 350-380 billion to investments over the next decade, 40% of which will be projects in the Energy segment. The most important ones include investments in the modernisation and expansion of energy and gas distribution networks, further development of renewable energy sources, construction of energy storage facilities, steam and gas units, and small modular reactors. These investments will support Poland’s energy transition and ensure secure, zero-emission energy. That is why it is so important to secure effective and long-term sources of financing for them. The issuance of green bonds is another important step that will help us to implement our ambitious strategic plans – said Magdalena Bartoś, Vice-President of the Management Board of ORLEN for Finance.
The funds raised through the issue will be used to finance investments by the ORLEN Group supporting energy transition and climate change mitigation. In particular, they will be allocated to financing the development of renewable energy sources (construction and acquisition of new RES production capacity), zero-emission transport (further development of the network of fast chargers for electric cars and charging infrastructure for buses and hydrogen cars) and increasing energy efficiency.
The scope and manner of use of the funds will be in line with ORLEN’s sustainable financing principles – the Green Finance Framework published on the orlen.pl website. These principles meet international standards and have been verified by Moody’s Ratings, which awarded them a high rating of SQS2 (very good). Only a few companies similar to ORLEN’s business profile have received such a high rating so far.
This is ORLEN’s second green Eurobond issue. The first, carried out in 2021, enabled the issue of 5,000 bonds with a total value of EUR 500 million.
Sustainable development and responsible business are key elements of ORLEN’s strategy until 2035. As part of this strategy, ORLEN has declared that it will end coal-based energy production by 2030 and phase out coal in heating by 2035. Its role will be taken over by gas units, renewable energy sources, hydrogen and small modular reactors. The goal is for the ORLEN Group to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Source: ORLEN
