Moody's ups Intergas

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded the issuer rating of Intergas Central Asia to Ba1 from Ba3 with positive outlook and the company's senior implied rating to Baa3 from Ba2, also with a positive outlook.

Moody's said the upgrades reflect the increasing strategic importance of this wholly state-owned company to Kazakhstan (sovereign rating Baa3, positive outlook). Going forward, Moody's said it expects the company's rating to move in line with that of the sovereign.

Intergas's revenues are not regulated but negotiated on an annual basis with its shippers, principally Ba1-rated Gazprom. Moody's said the predictability of Intergas's tariffs is underpinned by Gazprom's 25-year gas supply contract with Turkmenistan, for whose gas there is no viable export route other than via Intergas's pipelines across Kazakhstan.

Moody's said it expects that these volumes will grow in the future as Gazprom requires increasing amounts of gas to fulfill its international supply contracts with Western European offtakers.

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