Outlook On Woodside Petroleum Revised To Negative On Lower Oil Price Assumptions, 'BBB+' Rating Affirmed

MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 22, 2016--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had revised its rating outlook on Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (Woodside) to negative from stable. At the same time, we affirmed the 'BBB+' long-term rating on the company and its related debt issues and programs. "The outlook revision reflects our view that in the next one-to-two years Woodside's financial performance will be pressured beyond our tolerance for the 'BBB+' rating because of the current low spot oil price, which we expect to remain subdued in the long term," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Craig Parker. "Nevertheless, if current oil prices remain depressed, we expect Woodside would take action, as it has done in the past,

...MELBOURNE (Standard & Poor's) Jan. 22, 2016--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had revised its rating outlook on Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (Woodside) to negative from stable. At the same time, we affirmed the '###+' long-term rating on the company and its related debt issues and programs. "The outlook revision reflects our view that in the next one-to-two years Woodside's financial performance will be pressured beyond our tolerance for the '###+' rating because of the current low spot oil price, which we expect to remain subdued in the long term," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Craig Parker. "Nevertheless, if current oil prices remain depressed, we expect Woodside would take action, as it has done in the past, to retain cash within the business and stem the deterioration in its credit metrics." Supporting the rating is the company's long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts that are not fully correlated to the Brent oil price and are transacted with off-takers...

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