We recently raised our near-term price assumptions for both natural gas and crude oil based on stronger fundamentals. We expect U.S.–based independent oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company Range Resources Corp.'s credit measures and free cash flow generation to rise above our prior expectations for the 'B' rating. Therefore, we raised our issuer credit rating on Range to 'B+' from 'B'. We also raised our issue-level rating on the company's unsecured notes to 'BB-' from 'B+'. Our '2' recovery rating is unchanged. The stable outlook on Range reflects our expectation that debt to EBITDA declines and is sustained in the mid -2.0x range while FFO to debt rises to the low 30% range over the next two years.
