S&P rates ENAP notes BBB-

S&P said it affirmed the BBB- ratings on Empresa Nacional del Petroleo (ENAP).

The agency also said the company's stand-alone credit profile rating of B is unchanged.

S&P also said it assigned a BBB- rating to the company's proposed 10-year senior unsecured notes for up to $700 million.

The outlook remains stable.

On Aug. 2, ENAP announced that it intends to issue 10-year bullet dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes for refinancing purposes, the agency said.

The use of proceeds includes the tender of a portion of its existing bonds due 2019, 2020 and 2021 above par and the payment of all costs associated to the transaction, S&P said.

The voluntary tender offer is viewed as opportunistic, the agency noted.

The new base-case scenario, which includes the new issuance, assumes that ENAP will maintain relatively stable debt levels and credit metrics and in line with previous expectations, S&P said.

Moreover, the agency said it believes that a successful transaction will improve the company's maturity schedule by reducing the share of its medium-term debt and by extending its weighted average maturity beyond the 5.5-year period.

The ratings reflect a very high likelihood that its owner, the Republic of Chile, would provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support to the company in the event of financial distress, S&P added.

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