...Medium-Size Player: OMV AG (A-/Stable) is an Austria-based oil and gas company that mainly operates mature oilfields in Romania and Austria, and has stakes in assets in the North Sea, North Africa and the Middle East. In 2013-2014 it improved its upstream through acquiring stakes in a number of North Sea oilfields for over USD2.7bn, while continuing with divestments in downstream, eg, the June 2014 disposal of a 45% stake in Bayernoil. Over 2014-2016 OMV aims to invest EUR9bn in upstream ¡ 80% of total investment for the period. Little Rating Headroom: OMV has little headroom to deviate from Fitch Ratings' expectations without the possibility of a negative rating action. We expect OMV to increase production by 20% in 2014-2016 over 2013, complete downstream and retail optimisation, and maintain credit metrics commensurate with the low `A' rating category, ie, funds from operations (FFO) adjusted net leverage at below 2x and FFO fixed charge cover at around 10x. Stronger Upstream: In 9M14...
