Research Update: Korea National Oil 'AA' Ratings Affirmed On Government Support; Outlook Stable; SACP Lowered To 'bb-'

We expect the operating cash flows of Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) to significantly decline due to lower oil prices and the potential hit to production due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have revised down our assessment of KNOC's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) to 'bb-' from 'bb'. We continue to see an almost certain likelihood of extraordinary government support for the oil policy arm of the government of Korea. On May 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'AA' long-term issuer credit rating on KNOC. We also affirmed the 'AA' long-term issue ratings on the notes the company issued or guarantees. The stable outlook on KNOC reflects the ratings outlook on the sovereign credit ratings on the

...- We expect the operating cash flows of Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) to significantly decline due to lower oil prices and the potential hit to production due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. - We have revised down our assessment of KNOC's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) to '##-' from '##'. We continue to see an almost certain likelihood of extraordinary government support for the oil policy arm of the government of Korea. - On May 7, 2020, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its '##' long-term issuer credit rating on KNOC. We also affirmed the '##' long-term issue ratings on the notes the company issued or guarantees. - The stable outlook on KNOC reflects the ratings outlook on the sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Korea....

Research Update