On June 17, 2013, we lowered our foreign currency rating on Venezuela to 'B' from 'B+'. We are lowering our corporate credit rating on Venezuela-based oil and gas company a PDVSA to 'B' from 'B+'. The negative outlook on PDVSA mirrors that on the sovereign, reflecting its government-related entity (GRE) status and the potential for another downgrade if we further lower the ratings on the sovereign. On June 17, 2013, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) to 'B' from 'B+'. The outlook remains negative. Prior to this rating action we assessed the company's stand- alone credit profile (SACP) at 'b+'. We will reassess PDVSA's SACP
