...HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) March 25, 2019--S&P Global Ratings said today CNOOC Ltd. (A+/Stable/--) will remain resilient to likely lower oil prices over the next two years, with an abundant rating buffer. Our Brent oil price assumptions of US$60 per barrel for both 2019 and 2020 are lower than the 2018 average of US$71 per barrel, but remain well above CNOOC Ltd.'s all-in costs. The company's disciplined financial management will further underpin its robust credit metrics. We estimate CNOOC Ltd.'s ratio of debt-to-EBITDA was around 0.5x in 2018, down from 0.8x in 2017 and stronger than our forecast of 0.6x. This is mainly attributable to lower capital expenditure (capex) than the company's budget, partly offset by higher dividends. CNOOC Ltd.'s reported 2018 results are largely in line with our expectation. All-in costs (excluding exploration) came in at US$30.39 per barrel of oil equivalent in 2018, down for the fifth consecutive year and better than our expectation of a cost increase....
