Fitch: Woodside’s outlook revised to negative

Credit rating agency Fitch on Friday informed it has revised the outlook on Woodside’s IDR to negative from stable. 

Fitch affirmed Woodside’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) and its foreign-currency senior unsecured rating at ‘BBB+’, the statement reveals.

“At the same time, the agency has affirmed Woodside’s short-term IDR at ‘F2’ and simultaneously withdrawn this rating, as Fitch no longer considers it relevant to the agency’s coverage,” the agency said.

The outlook revision reflects Woodside’s lower rating headroom under sustained low oil prices and weakness in the LNG markets.

According to Fitch, Australian LNG player faces lower oil-linked LNG revenues in 2016 amid the low oil price environment.

Fitch added it expects oil prices to remain low for longer than previously expected, with limited prospects for price recovery in 2016 and continued near-term volatility.