Moody's cuts Questar Gas, Pipeline to A3

Moody's Investors Service said it confirmed the Baa3 senior unsecured ratings of Questar Market Resources, Inc. and downgraded the senior unsecured ratings of Questar Gas Co. and Questar Pipeline Co. to A3 from A2.

The outlook is stable. This concludes the review in February following the announcement of $655 million of debt-funded natural gas property acquisitions in Louisiana by Questar. The Prime-2 rating of the parent company, Questar Corp., was not affected by the review.

"Moody's confirmed [Questar Market's] Baa3 rating based on the potential diversification benefits of the acquired properties and management's plans to reduce the elevated leverage levels at [Questar Market] and Questar consolidated over the medium term," Pete Speer, Moody's vice president, said in a written statement.

"However, the transaction increased the overall business and financial risk of the Questar family and lowered its consolidated credit profile, resulting in the downgrade of Questar Gas and Questar Pipeline to A3," Speer said.

The Baa3 rating is supported by the company's track record of growing production and reserves at competitive costs, its integration with Gas and Pipeline and the stability and attractive returns provided by its Wexpro operations, the agency said.

The rating is restrained by a relatively small reserve and production scale in comparison to most investment grade peers and high concentration of reserves and production in western Wyoming, Moody's said.

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