MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) June 21, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said that it had affirmed its 'BBB+' long-term corporate credit and senior-unsecured debt ratings on Australian-based oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (Woodside). The outlook was revised to negative from stable. This rating action follows Woodside's announcement of a six-month delay and higher costs for its Pluto Foundation project. "In our opinion, further delays and cost overruns for Pluto reduce the buffer in the Woodside rating to weather any challenges, such as volatility in oil prices and exchange rates," Standard&Poor's credit analyst May Zhong said. "Furthermore, the project delay means that the time gap between completing Pluto and Woodside's next investment project is likely to
