TRENDS S&P EXPECTS FOR 2011: INCREASING CREDIT PRESSURE ON SOME NATURAL GAS PIPELINES AND INCREASED GAS-FIRED GENERATION KNOCKING OUT MORE OF COAL'S SHARE

摘要

Could the term "stranded assets" apply to some U.S. natural gas pipelines facing shifting markets and increasing supply basins? This question is considered by Standard & Poor's (S&P) in a report, 2011 Credit Outlook for North American Oil and Gas, prepared by its Global Credit Portal Ratings Direct Division. S&P's teleconference last week (FNGR No. 2841, pp5-9) discussed a financially stable credit outlook for the U.S. oil and gas industry. In S&P's associated report, the company offered additional predictions for 2011, including the observation that some usually steady U.S. natural gas pipelines may face increasing market pressure, due to supply shifts, especially in the Northeast. Coal-fired generation will lose more of its share to natural gas-fired generation, given the burgeoning gas supplies and low gas prices.