LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Sept. 13, 1999--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its triple-'B' long-term and 'A-3' short-term foreign currency issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on the State of Qatar. Standard&Poor's also affirmed Qatar's triple-'B'-plus long-term and 'A-2' short-term local currency issuer credit ratings. The outlook is stable. The ratings on the State of Qatar are supported by: -- Possession of the third-largest proven reserves of gas in the world, and expanded capacity to export oil. Gas exports, in particular, have benefited from the timely completion of a second, major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. LNG capacity utilization over the medium to long term appears assured, thanks to economic recovery in major Asian export markets and
