Fitch upgrades syncrude projects

Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded the senior secured debt ratings of Venezuelan heavy oil upgrade projects Petrozuata, Cerro Negro, Sincor, and Hamaca to B+ from B as they return to operational and financial normality after the December-February strike, Fitch said in a statement Wednesday. Fitch also removed the projects' ratings watch positive status. The ratings affect Petrozuata's US$1bn bonds, Cerro Negro's US$600mn bonds, US$1.2bn senior bank loans borrowed by the sponsors of Sincor Finance Inc, and total senior project loans of US$1.1bn to Hamaca. By the second quarter of 2003, production volumes at all four projects had either recovered to, or exceeded, pre-strike levels, Fitch said. In the second quarter Petrozuata production averaged some 130,000 barrels a day (b/d) of extra heavy crude oil (EHCO) and some 112,000b/d of syncrude (SCO); Cerro Negro was averaging 121,000b/d of EHCO and 106,000b/d SCO at end-June; Sincor "recently posted" 160,000b/d SCO and an estimated 197,000b/d of EHCO; and Hamaca has been producing and blending up to 80,000b/d of EHCO, Fitch said. To read Fitch's full report, see http://www.bnamericas.com/rc_search_detail.xsql?id_documento=38738&Tx_idioma=I