Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Petroleos Mexicanos, the Mexican state-owned oil monopoly, obtained a $2.5 billion standby bank loan at a longer maturity and lower rate than two existing credit lines.

The loan, in which 28 banks participated, has a maturity of about six years and would pay interest of 22.5 basis points over the London interbank offered rate if the funds are drawn, Mauricio Alazraki, managing director of finance and treasury at the Mexico City-based company, said in a telephone interview.

The loan replaces two credit lines of $1.25 billion each that had an average maturity of more than two years and paid an average of 32.5 basis points over Libor, he said. The commitment fee on the new loan is 8 basis points, lower than 12.5 basis points for the credit lines it replaces.

The loan for Pemex, as the company is known, closed at the end of September and garnered bank offers of $3.75 billion, Alazraki said.

``This shows that international banks perceive Pemex as a very solid company and shows there's a lot of confidence in Pemex as well as'' Mexico, Alazraki said.

The leading banks were Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Barclays Plc and Calyon.

Pemex's finances have improved since the Mexican Congress passed a tax cut that took effect last year and freed up cash for Pemex to fund investment plans and pay down debt.

Pemex will likely end this year with $50 billion of total debt, down from $52.3 billion at the end of 2006, Alazraki said. It would mark the first year Pemex has reduced debt since at least 2002.

Tax Cuts

With the 2006 tax reduction, Pemex paid a tax rate of 50.3 percent of sales in the second quarter this year, down from 61.7 percent in the same period of 2005. Congress approved a bill in September that reduces Pemex's taxes again, with an estimated tax savings of 30 billion pesos for 2008.

Alazraki said Pemex's debt likely will remain at about $50 billion in 2008. Whether Pemex will reduce debt again next year depends on the 2008 spending budget Congress sets.

The company had cash and cash equivalents of $16 billion at the end of June, giving Pemex net debt of $34.8 billion.

Pemex has $6 billion of debt that matures in 2008 compared with $5 billion this year, Alazraki said. The company, which didn't sell an international bond in 2007, may do so in 2008 to maintain a presence in the capital markets if conditions permit, he said.

Pemex, which has about 80 percent of its debt in dollars, may sell more debt in the local peso market, he said. The percentage of Pemex's local debt likely will rise at the expense of foreign offerings, Alazraki said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Black in Monterrey at tblack@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 5, 2007 18:34 EDT