BP (BP)

Standard & Poor’s Press Release

 On 1 September 2008, Standard & Poor’s issued a press release stating that it had lowered its corporate credit ratings on BP p.l.c. and its US and UK affiliates to ‘AA’ from ‘AA+’ and that it had lowered the long-term corporate credit rating on BP Finance p.l.c. to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’.  The outlook was stated to be stable. At the same time Standard & Poor’s affirmed its ‘A-1+’ short-term ratings.

 The rating agency stated that its downgrade followed its review of BP’s business and financial performance and comparison with those of other major integrated oil companies. It added that the new rating reflected negatives, analysed in the context of benchmarking with other major integrated oil and gas companies, relating to reassessment of BP’s US downstream weaknesses relative to its peers, financial policies less conservative than those of its peers and turbulences around 50%-owned, equity-consolidated TNK-BP. 

Further information is set out in the full text of the Standard & Poor’s press release.

Standard
& Poor’s Press Release

 On
1 September 2008, Standard & Poor’s issued a press release stating that it had lowered its corporate
credit ratings on BP p.l.c. and its US and UK affiliates to ‘AA’ from ‘AA+’
and that it had lowered the long-term corporate credit rating on BP Finance p.l.c. to ‘AA-’ from ‘AA’.  The
outlook was stated to be stable. At the same time Standard & Poor’s affirmed its ‘A-1+’
short-term ratings.

 The
rating agency stated that its downgrade followed its review of BP’s business and financial performance
and comparison with those of other major integrated oil companies. It added that the new rating
reflected negatives, analysed in the context of benchmarking with other major integrated oil and gas
companies, relating to reassessment of BP’s US downstream weaknesses relative to its peers, financial
policies less conservative than those of its peers and turbulences around 50%-owned,
equity-consolidated TNK-BP. 

Further
information is set out in the full text of the Standard & Poor’s press release.