Korea National Oil Corp.'s Proposed Senior Unsecured Notes Rated 'AA'

HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) March 18, 2025--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its 'AA' long-term issue rating to the U.S. dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes that Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC; AA/Stable/--) proposes to issue. The company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including refinancing debt. The rating on the notes is subject to our review of the final issuance documentation. We rate the senior unsecured notes the same as the long-term issuer credit rating on KNOC. This is because we do not foresee any material structural or contractual subordination risks in the company's capital structure. KNOC's capital structure consisted of about Korean won 17.1 trillion of unsecured debt as of end-2024, almost all at the parent level.

...March 17, 2025 HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) March 18, 2025--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its '##' long-term issue rating to the U.S. dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes that Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC; ##/Stable/--) proposes to issue. The company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including refinancing debt. The rating on the notes is subject to our review of the final issuance documentation. We rate the senior unsecured notes the same as the long-term issuer credit rating on KNOC. This is because we do not foresee any material structural or contractual subordination risks in the company's capital structure. KNOC's capital structure consisted of about Korean won 17.1 trillion of unsecured debt as of end-2024, almost all at the parent level. We equalize our ratings on KNOC with the sovereign credit ratings on Korea (##/Stable/A-1+). This is because we expect an almost certain likelihood of extraordinary government support if the national oil and gas...

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