Standard

Two to three years after the crash of the wholesale energy marketers the results of a new Standard & Poor’s survey of today’s market participants are “troubling,” to the ratings agency, which found that not all had learned the lesson of sound risk management practices regarding liquidity. Some also harbor the mistaken belief that it can’t happen again.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) said it assigned a “B+” rating to the proposed $500 million senior unsecured notes and corporate credit of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal developer Cheniere Energy Inc. with a stable outlook. S&P analysts said the junk bond rating primarily reflects the risk and uncertainties of the company rather than the operations of its four proposed LNG projects.

Questar Corp. wasn’t too happy about Standard & Poor’s (S&P) decision to downgrade the debt ratings of its regulated subsidiaries, Questar Gas Company and Questar Pipeline, to “A-” and its commercial paper to “A-2.” S&P affirmed the BBB+ long-term rating of Questar Market Resources and assigned a stable outlook for each Questar entity. “Our credit ratings remain strong, and we’ll keep them strong,” said CEO Keith O. Rattie. “No specific event triggered this action. In fact, our credit metrics today are stronger than at any time in the company’s history, so we don’t expect this action to have a material impact on our borrowing costs or access to credit markets.” S&P said that Questar’s growing exploration and production (E&P) business benefits Questar Gas and Questar Pipeline when commodity prices are high, but exposes them to greater risk when prices are low. “S&P also cited a negative shift in Utah’s regulatory environment as a factor in its decision to downgrade the credit ratings of Questar Gas. But more importantly, S&P affirmed a BBB+ rating for Market Resources, our E&P business and Questar’s primary growth driver,” Rattie added.

Calling it an example of a “successful regulatory outcome,” Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services praised an omnibus settlement between Xcel Energy’s Public Service Company of Colorado utility and more than two dozen of its stakeholders. The deal was approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission last December.

Calling it an example of a “successful regulatory outcome,” Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services praised an omnibus settlement between Xcel Energy’s Public Service Company of Colorado utility and more than two dozen of its stakeholders. The deal was approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission last December.

Citing external pressure to boost share prices, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Wednesday cut the debt ratings of Kerr-McGee Corp. The move followed Kerr-McGee’s decision this week to spin off or sell its chemicals business and repurchase at least $1 billion worth of stock (see Daily GPI, March 9).

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) on Tuesday affirmed El Paso Corp.’s “B-” credit rating and revised the outlook to “stable” from “negative” to reflect the company’s progress to restructure and improve liquidity.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) on Tuesday affirmed El Paso Corp.’s “B-” credit rating and revised the outlook to “stable” from “negative” to reflect the company’s progress to restructure and improve liquidity.

This year is shaping up as another “active” year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the oil and natural gas industry, according to a new report by Standard & Poor’s (S&P). Many large independent and integrated producers face stagnant reserve replacement or falling reserves, and M&A has been a “safer path to bolstering the reserve base and production profile than the drillbit.”