S&P: Anadarko ratings unaffected by verdict

Standard & Poor's said Monday that a Texas jury award of $140 million in a Texas lawsuit involving Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (BBB+/stable/--) would not affect the company's ratings or outlook.

Anadarko has yet to post a bond to support the award and S&P said it believes that the company's bonding requirement will be significantly less than the full amount of the award. If Anadarko is forced to pay the full award, S&P said it would obviously view the event as a clear credit negative. (In effect, about half of Anadarko's planned debt reduction for 2003 would be negated.)

However, S&P said it will defer any action on Anadarko's ratings or outlook until the appeals process concludes, which is likely to take at least a year, and will then evaluate the significance of any final judgment in the context of the company's financial position.

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