...Over the course of 2009, Fitch Ratings expects Russian and CIS oil and gas companies to face challenges to maintain healthy credit metrics in the wake of the agency s anticipation of a slowdown in global economic growth, a reduction in demand for crude oil and greater volatility in crude oil prices than in recent years. A key area of focus in the Russian/CIS hydrocarbon sector will be access to external financing to fund development projects. Operators in this part of the world are more heavily dependent on external financing to fund exploration and project development than their peers in Western E urope or Latin America, for example. As such, reductions in the amount of available funds for borrowing, significant increases in borrowing costs, or outright lack of access to capital markets are all expected t o have a significant impact on companies financial profiles in 2009. Most of the Russian/CIS oil and gas companies rated by...
