MEXICO CITY (Standard&Poor's) Nov.14, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'B+' senior unsecured debt rating to the $2.4 billion in exchange notes due 2021 proposed by Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA; B+/Stable/--). The notes benefit from the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee of payment by PDVSA Petróleo S.A. (not rated), PDVSA's exploration-and-production subsidiary. The company will exchange its outstanding 8% senior unsecured notes due 2013 (not rated) for new senior unsecured notes due 2021. The exchange will take place as a private transaction and will be par for par, with a coupon that is 100 basis points higher than that on the existing 2013 notes. We view the offer as opportunistic and believe that
