S&P Cuts Ratings of 10 U.S. Oil Companies

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Tuesday cut the ratings of 10 U.S. oil and gas exploration and production companies, citing the sharp drop in crude oil prices.

Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. energy company by revenue, was among the companies that had their credit ratings cut. Its corporate credit rating was cut one notch to double-A-negative.

On Friday, Chevron said it would lay off workers and slash more than $9 billion in capital spending this year after reporting it had swung to a fourth-quarter loss.

Meanwhile, larger rival Exxon Mobil Corp.'s triple-A corporate rating was placed on watch for a possible downgrade

Other companies that saw their ratings cut by one notch are: Apache Corp., Continental Resources Inc., Devon Energy Corp., EOG Resources Inc., Hess Corp., Hunt Oil Co., Marathon Oil Corp., Murphy Oil Corp. and Southwestern Energy Co.

Among the companies that had their outlooks revised to negative, indicating a possible downgrade, are: Anadarko Petroleum Corp., National Fuel Gas Co. and Noble Energy Inc.

Oil futures settled on Tuesday below $30 a barrel again, as expectations of production cuts dissipated.

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry body, is set to release its weekly U.S. inventory forecast on Tuesday; official figures from the Energy Department are to be released on Wednesday.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 02, 2016 16:45 ET (21:45 GMT)

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