...Outlook Changes Company Specific: Credit Outlooks for the EMEA oil and gas portfolio remain largely Stable despite some high-profile names such as ENI SpA, Total SA and BG Energy Holdings Ltd having their Outlooks revised to Negative from Stable in 1H14. This was mainly due to company-specific problems rather than broad-based sector weakness. It is worth highlighting, however, that more than 80% of issuers in Fitchs EMEA oil and gas portfolio have Stable Outlooks and the number of Positive Outlooks has doubled since 2013 to 5% from 2.5%. Sector Outlook Could Change: Our outlook for sector developments remains stable, but geopolitical tensions place upward pressure on oil prices that would benefit issuers. Revenue growth for Fitch-rated western European oil companies contracted 0.5% in 2013, and we anticipate aggregate revenues may contract again in 2014 in the absence of higher oil prices. Heightened tension in Iraq, however, has reintroduced the "fear premium" into oil prices. The Institute...
