Northern Oil And Gas Inc. Upgraded To 'B' On Higher Commodity Price Assumptions And Debt Paydown; Outlook Stable

S&P Global Ratings raised its near-term crude oil price assumptions and now anticipates West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to average $70 per barrel (bbl) for the remainder of 2022 and $60/bbl in 2023; our natural gas price and longer-term oil price assumptions are unchanged. We now anticipate credit measures to be better than prior expectations for Northern Oil and Gas Inc., a Minnetonka, Minn.-based oil and gas exploration and production company. Additionally, with the majority paydown of its reserve-based lending (RBL) facility and lower debt burden, in our view, the company can better face commodity price volatility. As a result, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'B' from 'B-'. Additionally, we raised our rating on

...February 2, 2022 - S&P Global Ratings raised its near-term crude oil price assumptions and now anticipates West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to average $70 per barrel (bbl) for the remainder of 2022 and $60/bbl in 2023; our natural gas price and longer-term oil price assumptions are unchanged. - We now anticipate credit measures to be better than prior expectations for Northern Oil and Gas Inc., a Minnetonka, Minn.-based oil and gas exploration and production company. Additionally, with the majority paydown of its reserve-based lending (RBL) facility and lower debt burden, in our view, the company can better face commodity price volatility. - As a result, we raised our issuer credit rating on the company to 'B' from 'B-'. - Additionally, we raised our rating on the company's 8.125% senior unsecured notes due 2028 to 'B+' from 'B'. The '2' recovery rating indicates our expectation for substantial (70%-90%; rounded estimate: 85%) recovery of principal to creditors in the event of a...

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