S&P affirms Woodside

Standard & Poor's said it had affirmed the BBB+ long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

The outlook was revised to negative from stable.

This action follows news of Woodside's six-month delay and higher costs for its Pluto Foundation project, S&P said.

Further delays and cost overruns for Pluto reduce the buffer in the Woodside rating to weather any challenges, such as volatility in oil prices and exchange rates, the agency said.

Furthermore, the project delay means that the time gap between completing Pluto and Woodside's next investment project is likely to be shorter, providing less time to establish a sustained improvement in the company's cash flow protection metrics, S&P said.

The agency said it will continue to monitor the commissioning progress and will reassess the outlook several months after the delivery of Pluto's first cargo, which is now scheduled in March 2012.

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