Kuwait Energy, an independent oil and gas company with assets across the Middle East, has mandated Bank of America Merrill Lynch as sole bookrunner and lead manager for fixed income investor meetings from July 15.

A RegS-only US dollar transaction may follow, subject to market conditions, banking sources said.

Last week, Fitch Ratings assigned Kuwait Energy a long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of 'B-' with a stable outlook. It also assigned an expected senior unsecured rating of 'B-(EXP)' to Kuwait Energy's proposed issue of notes.

Fitch said the ratings factored in Kuwait Energy's good track record of producing hydrocarbons in difficult areas where it is present - Egypt, Yemen and Oman - plus its experienced management and its prudent attitude to debt funding.

But constraints on the company's ratings include its small size, limited reserves, operations mainly through quasi-PSAs (production-sharing agreements) with national oil companies, and an ongoing gas development project in Iraq, Fitch added. -Reuters