Moody's leaves long-term rating of SOCAR unchanged

International rating agency Moody's has left the stable outlook and long-term issuer rating "Baa3" for the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) unchanged.

According to the agency, as part of the rating committee meeting, the next scheduled assessment of SOCAR's ratings was conducted.

At the meeting, the validity of the ratings was reassessed taking into account the applied basic methodology and current events.

"This information does not mean the adoption of a new decision regarding the credit rating and does not indicate that such a decision will be made in the near future," the agency stated.

According to the information, in accordance with Moody's methodology for government-related issuers, SOCAR's rating reflects factors such as the company's Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) at "ba2", the foreign currency credit rating of the government of Azerbaijan at "Baa3" — which is the 100% owner of the company, a very high default correlation between SOCAR and the government, as well as a high probability of government support in case of financial difficulties.

SOCAR's BCA assessment at "ba2" is based on positive factors such as the company's key role in Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector and its great importance to the national economy, the presence of strong financial indicators, solid credit metrics, close ties with the government of Azerbaijan, which has accumulated significant financial reserves, as well as the government's ability to provide financial support to the company if necessary.
Source: Report