September
19, 2003
Fitch upgrades ratings of PDVSA,
Petrozuata, Cerro Negro, Sincor & Hamaca
(Fitch Ratings) - Fitch Ratings has upgraded
the senior secured debt ratings of the four Venezuelan
heavy oil strategic associations, Petrozuata,
Cerro Negro, Sincor, and Hamaca, to 'B+' from
'B'.
The rating actions apply to the following debt
securities:
Petrozuata
Finance Inc. (Petrozuata)
US$300
million 7.63% series A bonds due 2009;
US$625 million 8.22% series B bonds due 2017;
US$75 million 8.37% series C bonds due 2022.
Cerro
Negro Finance, Ltd. (Cerro Negro)
US$200 million 7.33% bonds due 2009;
US$350 million 7.90% bonds due 2020;
US$50 million 8.03% bonds due 2028.
Sincrudos
de Oriente Sincor, C.A. (Sincor)
-US$1.2
billion senior bank loans borrowed by the sponsors
of
Sincor Finance Inc.
Petrolera
Hamaca, S.A. (Hamaca)
Total
senior project loans of US$1.1 billion, consisting
of:
US$627.8 million senior agency loan due 2018;
US$470 million senior bank loan due 2015, borrowed
on a several (not joint) basis 30% by Corpoguanipa,
S.A., a subsidiary of PDVSA, and 70% by Hamaca
Holdings L.L.C.
The
rating actions reflect the normalization of the
operational and financial performance at each
of the heavy oil strategic associations following
the national strike that virtually paralysed Venezuela's
oil industry between December 2002 and February
2003.
In
June 2003, Fitch upgraded the long-term foreign
currency rating of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela to 'B-' from 'CCC+' and the long-term
local currency (Venezuelan bolívar) rating
to 'B-' from 'CCC'. The Rating Outlook for Venezuela
is Stable. Fitch believes that the probability
of a sovereign-related interruption in oil operations
similar in scale to that recorded at the beginning
of 2003 to be low.
