Moody's assesses companies involved in Gulf oil spill

Moody's Investors Service said the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that began in late April could continue for weeks, posing an unprecedented threat to the coastal region and raising the specter of credit pressure for the five primary companies involved in the project.

"The environmental liabilities and legal costs facing these five companies involved in the Macondo drilling project will put negative pressure on their credit profiles," Steven Wood, managing director of the oil and gas/chemicals team at Moody's, said in an agency statement. "Although the monetary liability and long-term credit effects remain unclear, all five companies face reputational risk."

The monetary aftermath is likely to fall most heavily on BP plc, the operator of the drilling project at Macondo, but the extent of its liability remains unknown as the spill continues, the agency said.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s liability is more ambiguous, Moody's said. As a 25% partner in the drilling project, Anadarko was not the operator at Macondo, and unlike BP it was insured against such accidents. "But Anadarko's liquidity could be affected if the spill continues beyond three or four months," Wood said.

The rig that caught fire and collapsed was owned by Transocean Inc., which has about $1.6 billion in insurance and has already collected most of the cost of its destroyed rig - over $400 million. But the threat of potential liabilities, new regulations and laws stemming from this accident could pose long-term dangers to the company's business and its reputation, Moody's said.

Insurance could also limit the liability of the other two companies involved, Cameron International Corp. and Halliburton Co. The agency said the impact on both companies is also buffered by strong liquidity, adequate insurance and a limited degree of responsibility for the well. But the unknown extent of liability and the inevitable legal battles over the spill make this far from certain, Moody's added.

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