Oil and Gas Industry Will Need 'Strong Fundamentals' in 2008, Says S&P; Strong Prices Continue to Support Exploration and Production

摘要

Most U.S. oil and gas companies did well in 2007, given the strong price for natural gas and, especially, crude oil. Now, however, less-buoyant capital markets and some companies' willingness to take on additional leverage could temper credit strength across the industry, according to a recent report by Standard and Poor's Ratings Services (S&P). Ratings Roundup: Oil and Gas Credit Quality Was Healthy in 2007, But 2008 Could See Some Variability Among Sectors, by analysts Paul Harvey and Suzana Zayed-OU, warned that oil and gas companies will "need strong fundamentals" to weather the uncertain capital markets this year.