Fitch Ratings has affirmed Gazprom Neft's (GPN) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'BBB', with a Stable Outlook.
The affirmation applies to the ratings of all debt issued by GPN and GPN Capital S.A. prior to 1 September 2014. A complete list of rating actions is available below.
The ratings of GPN reflect its strong business profile with large upstream production, integration into downstream operations, low operating expenses, flexible capex and progressive domestic taxation that partially offsets volatility on the oil market as well as risks pertaining to operating environment in Russia. Despite the oil price slump due to the coronavirus pandemic hitting GPN's operating profit, we expect the company's leverage profile to remain strong with funds from operations (FFO) net leverage under 2x in 2021-2023.
GPN is rated at the same level as its parent PJSC Gazprom (BBB/Stable). We assess overall links between the companies as strong, reflecting strong legal ties and close relations between the two entities in strategic and operational aspects. We assess GPN's standalone credit profile (SCP) at 'bbb'.
