The refinery unit of Chile’s state-controlled energy company Enap has raised $750m through a rights offering that concluded December 24. Enap faces some $800m in short-term debt maturities this year, and told stock market regulators last week that 2008 losses are expected to total more than $550m.

The oil and gas utility has been heard sounding out bankers for a 10-year international bond issue of up to $500m. But last week, Chilean newspaper El Mercurio reported Enap aims to issue a $300m-$500m bond in the domestic market, citing unnamed government sources.

Local bankers say such a deal would make sense given the December success of Endesa, which highlights captive strong domestic demand. Moody’s last month chopped Enap to A3 from A2, citing weakened profitability and high leverage compared to peers. Debt-to-Ebitda rose to more than 15x over the 12 months to September 20, Moody’s says.

The outlook is stable as Moody’s expects financial performance to improve over the near to medium term as a result of investment initiatives, reduced diesel demand from recent record levels and lower working capital needs. Enap was last in the international market in 2004, so it should benefit from scarcity value as well as a relatively positive zip code. Its last bond deal was a $150m 10-year through Deutsche Bank that came with a 4.875% coupon.