S&P lowers Northwestconnect

Standard & Poor’s said it lowered the ratings on Northwestconnect General Partnership’s senior secured bonds and bank loan to BBB from BBB+.

The outlook is stable.

The downgrades reflect a view that the equity sponsors will not amend the existing interest-rate swaps agreements, resulting in the ratings on the project to be no higher than those on the ratings on Dexia Credit Local, the lowest-rated of the three interest-rate swaps counterparties, S&P said.

Furthermore, the lower-than-expected lifecycle spending in the past few operating periods resulted in deferring planned lifecycle expenditures, the agency said.

Relative to that of its peers, the company has robust liquidity reserves, allowing it to withstand operating and macroeconomic stresses, S&P said.

S&P lowers AltaGas to negative

Standard & Poor's said it revised the outlook on AltaGas Ltd. to negative from stable.

The agency also said it affirmed the company’s BBB long-term corporate credit rating.

The outlook revision reflects the weak forecast financial metrics, given the current low commodity price environment for both frac spreads and Alberta power, S&P said.

The outlook change also considers the lower assumed processing volumes in the company’s midstream gathering and processing business line, the agency said.

S&P also said it is forecasting lower cash flows and higher leverage due to ongoing capital programs and recent acquisitions.

But, the company’s financial metrics are expected to improve as new gas gathering and processing facilities are brought into service and the GWF Energy Holdings LLC acquisition starts contributing cash flow for a full year in 2016, S&P said.

DBRS lowers Andarko, Kerr-McGee views to negative

DBRS said it confirmed Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s issuer rating at BBB, along with the senior unsecured notes and debentures ratings of Anadarko and Kerr-McGee Corp. at BBB.

DBRS also said it changed the trends to negative from stable.

Because of the sharp and steep decline in oil and gas prices, Anadarko’s key credit metrics for the last 12 months ending Sept. 30 have weakened considerably and are now less than the BBB threshold, the agency said.

DBRS added that the company has the flexibility to respond to pricing pressures and has sharply curtailed capital spending and sold assets.

Furthermore, the company has sufficient liquidity and a low-cost production base sourced from a diverse portfolio of producing assets mainly from key basins in the United States to withstand a period of weak pricing, the agency said.

Moody’s cuts Woodside to negative

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the Baa1 senior unsecured issuer rating of Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the provisional Baa1 senior unsecured medium-term note program rating and the Baa1 senior unsecured ratings of Woodside Finance Ltd.

The outlook on all ratings was changed to negative from stable.

The change in outlook to negative follows the Dec. 15 revision of Moody's oil and natural gas price assumptions in light of continuing oversupply in both the global oil markets and the U.S. natural gas market.

"Woodside's negative outlook reflects Moody's expectation that earnings and credit metrics in 2015 will be weaker than previously expected, and will take longer to rebalance to more appropriate levels for the rating under our revised base case assumptions," Moody's vice president and senior credit officer Matthew Moore said in a news release.

"The negative outlook also reflects the current weakness in the sector and the remaining uncertainty and downside risk around prices."

DBRS downgrades Talisman

DBRS said it removed all of the ratings of Talisman Energy Inc. from under review with developing implications and downgraded the issuer rating and unsecured debentures and medium-term notes ratings to BBB (low) from BBB.

The trend is stable.

DBRS also said it downgraded the company’s preferred shares rating from Pfd-3 to Pfd-3 (low) with a stable trend.

The agency said that since the acquisition of Talisman by Repsol SA in May, Repsol has not guaranteed Talisman’s debt. So the agency said it rates the debt on a stand-alone basis while acknowledging the close relationship between the two companies.

The downgrades reflect a view that Talisman’s key credit metrics have weakened to a level no longer commensurate of a BBB rating and are not likely to materially recover over the near term, primarily due to the depressed commodity-price environment, DBRS said.

S&P lifts Qualcomm to stable

Standard & Poor’s said it revised the outlook on Qualcomm Inc. to stable from negative.

The agency also said it affirmed the company’s A+ and A-1+ corporate credit ratings.

The outlook revision reflects the company’s decision to conclude its strategic review without a business separation or adoption of a more aggressive financial policy, S&P said.

The ratings reflect the company’s strong earnings scale due to its combined technology licensing and semiconductor product businesses, the agency said.

The ratings also consider its competitive position as one of the leading providers in wireless communications semiconductor markets, S&P said, and its minimal financial leverage.

These factors are partially offset by the company’s client-concentration relative to companies rated with an AA- rating, including Oracle Corp., the agency said.

DBRS: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya view to positive

DBRS said it confirmed Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA’s issuer and senior debt rating at A, subordinated debt rating at A (low) and short-term instruments rating at R-1 (low).

The trend was changed to positive from stable.

The bank’s intrinsic assessment was maintained at A.

The positive trend primarily reflects consistent improving fundamentals, including core profitability and asset quality in Spain, the group’s core market, DBRS said.

The positive trend also considers the group’s franchise strength in Spain and the ongoing economic recovery in Spain, the agency said.

S&P affirms Accor on $2.9 billion acquisition

Standard & Poor’s said it affirmed the BBB- long-term and A-3 short-term corporate credit ratings on Accor SA.

The outlook is stable.

The affirmation reflects an opinion that Accor’s agreement to acquire FRHI Hotels & Resorts for $2.9 billion in cash and shares does not affect Accor’s satisfactory business risk profile or its significant financial risk profile, S&P said.

The successful integration of the 155 hotels and resorts under the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel brands, of which 40 are under development, will moderately strengthen Accor’s business risk profile within the satisfactory category, the agency said.

This reflects added scale and diversification, particularly in the luxury and upper upscale segments, S&P said.

FRHI also will strengthen Accor in the key U.S. market, the agency added.

These strengths are offset by the inherent cyclicality of the lodging sector and Accor’s still-significant exposure to an asset-heavy, lease-based hotel operating model, S&P said.

Moody’s reviews seven Canadian E&P companies

Moody's Investors Service said it placed the ratings of seven Canadian exploration and production companies and their rated subsidiaries on review for downgrade.

The affected companies are: Baytex Energy Corp.; Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.; Canadian Oil Sands Ltd.; Cenovus Energy Inc.; Encana Corp.; Husky Energy Inc.; and Suncor Energy Inc.

"Industry conditions have weakened further with oil and natural gas prices at multi-year lows," Moody's senior vice president Terry Marshall said in a news release.

"E&P companies will be stressed for a longer period with much lower cash flows, difficulty selling assets and limited capital markets access."

Moody’s reviews Inpex

Moody's Japan K.K. said it placed the A1 issuer rating of Inpex Corp. under review for downgrade.

The review was prompted by the Dec. 15 revision of Moody's oil and natural gas price assumptions in light of continuing oversupply in both the global oil markets and the U.S. natural gas market.

"We expect Inpex's profitability to deteriorate in the current low oil price environment and its debt to increase as a result of investments relating to the Ichthys Project over the next 12 to 18 months," Kailash Chhaya, Moody's vice president and lead analyst for Inpex, said in a news release.

"If the oil price remains at a level close to Moody's updated assumptions and if the company goes ahead with its investment plan, primarily relating to Ichthys in Australia, then we expect leverage to deteriorate beyond the range that supports its baseline credit assessment (BCA) of baa1."

Moody’s could drop Japan Petroleum

Moody's Japan K.K. said it placed the A2 issuer rating of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. under review for downgrade.

The review was prompted by the Dec. 15 revision of Moody's oil and natural gas price assumptions in light of continuing oversupply in both the global oil markets and the U.S. natural gas market.

"We expect Japex's profitability to deteriorate in the current low oil price environment, and its debt to increase as a result of its investments in large-scale projects over the next 12 to 18 months," Kailash Chhaya, Moody's vice president and lead analyst for Japan Petroleum, said in a news release.

"If the oil price remains at a level close to Moody's updated assumptions and if the company goes ahead with large-scale investments, primarily in Canada, we expect leverage to deteriorate beyond the range that supports its baseline credit assessment (BCA) of baa1."

Moody’s could lower U.S. E&P companies

Moody's Investors Service said it placed the ratings of several U.S. exploration and production (E&P) companies and their rated subsidiaries on review for downgrade.

The companies include: Anadarko Finance Co.; Anadarko Petroleum Corp.; Antero Resources Corp.; Apache Corp.; Apache Finance Canada Corp.; Apache Finance Canada II Corp.; Denbury Resources Inc.; EP Energy LLC; EQT Corp.; Hess Corp.; Hilcorp Energy I, LP; Hunt Oil Co.; Kerr-McGee Corp.; National Fuel Gas Co.; Occidental Petroleum Corp.; Pioneer Natural Resources Co.; SM Energy Co.; Union Pacific Resources Group Inc.; Unit Corp.; WPX Energy, Inc.; Burlington Resources Finance Co.; Burlington Resources, Inc.; Cimarex Energy Co.; Concho Resources Inc.; Conoco Funding Co.; ConocoPhillips; ConocoPhillips Canada Funding Co. I; ConocoPhillips Canada Funding Co. II; ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Ltd.; ConocoPhillips Co.; ConocoPhillips Qatar Funding Ltd.; Continental Resources, Inc.; Energen Corp.; EOG Resources, Inc.; Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp.; Louisiana Land & Exploration Co.; Marathon Oil Corp.; Murphy Oil Corp.; Newfield Exploration Co.; Noble Energy, Inc.; Polar Tankers, Inc.; QEP Resources, Inc.; Range Resources Corp.; Southwestern Energy Co.; Tosco Corp.; and Whiting Petroleum Corp.

"Industry conditions have weakened further with oil and natural gas prices at multi-year lows," Moody's senior vice president Pete Speer said in a news release.

"E&P companies will be stressed for a longer period with much lower cash flows, difficulty selling assets and limited capital markets access."

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