S&P downgrades Santos

Standard & Poor's said it lowered the long-term corporate rating on Santos Ltd. to BBB- from BBB, along with its short-term corporate ratings to A-3 from A-2.

The outlook is negative.

The agency also said it lowered the senior unsecured long-term issue ratings on Santos Finance Ltd.'s debt issuance program to BBB-, short-term rating on its commercial-paper program to A-3 from A-2 and the subordinated issue rating on its subordinated notes to BB+ from BBB-.

The downgrades reflect a view that Santos' financial performance will remain subdued in 2016, S&P said.

The company's credit metrics are not expected to recover to a level in line with the previous BBB rating, the agency said.

This is a result of the current depressed oil prices and the revised oil-price assumptions, S&P said.

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