London — Glencore is seeking to raise $550m from investors through a debt issue guaranteed by oil from Iraqi Kurdistan in an attempt to secure a big slice of the high-risk — and high-reward — market in a region at war with Islamic State. Kurdish oil has been targeted by European traders over the past two years, since Erbil began selling oil independently from Baghdad. It has been relatively cheap due to the potential for supply disruptions and threats from Iraq’s government to sue anyone touching the crude. The government of the autonomous Kurdish region in Erbil has borrowed about $2bn from Glencore’s rivals such as Vitol, Petraco and Trafigura to be repaid in oil. The companies have all borrowed money from banks and lent it to Erbil at their own risk. Glencore, whose trading division has been in the spotlight as mining profits have declined, was the last merchant to enter the game earlier in 2016 by lending $300m to Erbil. The loan is being repaid by way of one mid-sized oil cargo...
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