BP’s Rating Raised Three Levels at Fitch After Spill Ends
BP Plc’s credit rating was raised three levels after the company stopped the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the biggest in U.S. history.
The company’s long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating were raised to A from BBB, Fitch said in a statement. It assigned a stable outlook to the rating.
The new ratings and outlook “reflect an end to the threat of leaks from the Macondo well,” Fitch said. It “also reflects both the improved visibility of potential liability scenarios” and “substantial progress that BP has made to date in building up liquidity to address potential financial payments.”
BP’s MC252 well, or Macondo well, leaked an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude after the April 20 explosion on board the Deepwater Horizon, which killed 11 workers, Since July 15, no oil has flowed into the Gulf, BP said Sept. 3.
The London-based company said in July it would increase asset sales to raise as much as $30 billion over 18 months to help pay for cleanup costs and liabilities from the environmental disaster, which cost Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward his job.
On June 15, Fitch cut BP’s rating by six notches to BBB, two levels above junk, on concern over the potential cost of cleaning up the spill and meeting future liabilities. The company’s highest rating is AAA.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eduard Gismatullin in London at egismatullin@bloomberg.net
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